Ministers refused to guarantee furnaces will keep running at British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant today despite the government taking control.
Treasury minister James Murray confirmed that a shipment of coal needed to maintain operations is at docks in Lincolnshire.
But he dodged on when they would be transferred the 25 miles to the site, amid a scramble to secure more raw materials for the process.
Once blast furnaces go out and cool they are impractical to restart.
The government is being urged to ‘get on with it’ after it emerged the 55,000-ton delivery from Japan, which arrived on Thursday, had not yet been paid for.
Rail operators drew up timetables for two freight trains to run yesterday between Immingham Port on the Humber Estuary and Scunthorpe Steelworks, but the cargo was not unloaded.
A Downing Street source said government officials were ‘on site and talking to local management about a plan’ for the coking coal to be delivered.
Touring broadcast studios this morning, Mr Murray said Government staff had been at the plant in North Lincolnshire since Saturday – when Parliament passed emergency legislation to direct operations.
‘Their role is to make sure we do everything we can to make sure we get those raw materials to the blast furnaces in time and to make sure they continue operating,’ he said.
Mr Murray would not guarantee the furnaces will continue running, claiming the plant’s Chinese owners, Jingye, had ‘accelerated’ the shut down of one furnace.
He said: ‘The raw materials, the shipments have arrived, they’re in the UK, they’re nearby. There were questions about getting them into the blast furnaces, that is what the officials are focused on right now.’
He added: ‘We know that the Government needed to do everything possible on Saturday to protect the future of steelmaking in the UK.
‘We’re not just going to step aside and let the industry fail with the blast furnaces closing. We’ve been negotiating in good faith with Jingye but when it became clear they were accelerating the plans to close the blast furnaces, we had to step in.’
The Chinese foreign ministry warned the UK against ‘politicising’ trade matters.
‘Both sides should discuss and solve the difficulties encountered by the current operation of British Steel on the basis of the principle of mutual benefit,’ spokesman Lin Jian said.
A separate statement issued by the Chinese embassy said: ‘We are following closely the developments of British Steel involving the Chinese private company.
‘We have urged the British side to act in accordance with the principles of fairness, impartiality and non-discrimination and to make sure the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese company be protected.’
The statement added: ‘It is an objective fact that British steel companies have generally encountered difficulties in recent years…
‘It is hoped that the British government will actively seek negotiation with the relevant Chinese company to find a solution acceptable to all parties.’
The shipment of coal needed to save Scunthorpe’s blast furnaces is still thought to be stuck on a boat at the docks.
However, Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, GMB union national officer, said she is ‘wholly reassured’ that the coking coal will be ‘paid for and unloaded over the next couple of days’ at Immingham Bulk Terminal.
She told BBC Breakfast: ‘I spoke to British Steel late yesterday evening and was wholly reassured, actually.
‘I’ve (been) told that the coke that’s at Immingham Bulk Terminal will be paid for and unloaded over the next couple of days and that Government are working at pace to secure the rest of the raw materials that are currently on the ocean.’
Gareth Stace, head of the UK Steel industry body, said Parliament had given British Steel ‘breathing space while a long-term situation for the site’s operations is found’.
‘The next and most immediate step is securing the iron ore and coking coal needed to keep the furnaces operating,’ he said.
‘If the furnaces cool down, it is virtually impossible for them to be restarted. We applaud the herculean efforts of officials and British Steel staff to secure these supplies.
‘Dozens of other steel companies have offered assistance and materials, demonstrating that, at times of crisis, the sector comes together as one. The success of our steel industry sits above any individual business.’
Steelworks insiders said on Wednesday there were 48 hours of coal supplies left and the site needed them ‘to allow it to keep going’.
Officials said that before the Government’s intervention to take control, British Steel’s Chinese owners Jingye were selling off raw materials and not ordering more.
It has since been reported Scunthorpe’s two blast furnaces could continue running until May. However, this may involve one being kept warm until it can be restarted.
Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘What is the Government doing?
‘Ministers said they needed the recall of Parliament to pass emergency legislation to keep the steelworks running but now they don’t act like it’s an emergency.’