BRITISH Steel unions have called on the government to honour its pledge to help their industry after a new report recommended refiring two blast furnaces to fill the production gap during the transition to greener electric arc furnaces.

The unions — Community, Unite and GMB — commissioned a report by industry consultants Syndex into British Steel’s decarbonisation strategy.

British Steel union reps received the report yesterday and unanimously endorsed it and its recommendations.

China’s Jingye Group bought British Steel for £70 million in November 2019. The deal included steelworks in Scunthorpe, Teesside, and Skinningrove.

The unions said: “The next stage will be for the National Trade Union Steel Co-ordinating Committee, comprising of senior representatives from Community, Unite and GMB, to formally present the report to Jingye, and to discuss in private with the owner how to take forward its contents.”

Community’s assistant general secretary Alasdair McDiarmid said: “British Steel in Scunthorpe of huge strategic importance for the UK steel industry, as well as for the local economy in north-east Lincolnshire and beyond — we simply cannot afford to lose it.

“The new report produced by our industry experts Syndex outlines steps that can be taken over the months ahead to ensure that we maintain capacity, including through keeping two blast furnaces running until new technologies can be implemented on site.

“We look forward to presenting the plan to Jingye over the weeks ahead, and we stand ready to work with the company and the government to secure a long-term future for steelmaking in Scunthorpe.”

A Department of Business and Trade spokesperson said: “This government will simply not allow the end of steel making in the UK. That’s why we’ve committed up to £2.5 billion of investment to rebuild the UK steel industry and support communities now and for generations to come.

“We’re working across government in partnership with trade unions and businesses, including British Steel, to secure a green steel transition that’s right for the workforce, represents a good investment for taxpayers and safeguards the future of the steel industry in Britain.”