Pressure was mounting on the Government to bailout British Steel with a £30million lifeline today.
Reports suggest the firm, which employs 4,000 workers at its Scunthorpe plant, could plunge into administration tomorrow unless ministers stump up cash.
British Steel, formed in 2016 after it was rescued by investment firm Greybull Capital, received a £100million loan to pay an EU emissions bill earlier this month.
Now it needs more money to avoid collapse, which would jeopardise 20,000 jobs in its supply chain.
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Community steelworkers' union operations director Alasdair McDiarmid described the reports as “extremely concerning”.
He added: “It is vital now that cool heads prevail and Greybull and the Government continue to focus on finding a solution that maintains employment and keeps the business trading.
“The public should know that if British Steel were liquidated, on top of the devastation of yet more steel communities, the clean-up costs for the industrial sites could end up costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds.
“Pragmatic decisions in the coming days could avert another industrial disaster. In that context we do not want to see British Steel becoming a political football - the stakes in this game are too high.”
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All-Party Parliamentary Group on Steel and Metal Related Industries secretary Anna Turley said: “My immediate thoughts are with the workforce and their families who are having to live day to day not knowing what is going to happen with their jobs and livelihoods.
“We’re now on the brink of a potential administration for British Steel and without government action there is a very real danger of another devastating closure.
“The Government must now intervene to secure the assets and protect the workforce before irreparable damage is done to this strategic British industry.
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“This crisis has been caused by uncertainty from chaotic Brexit negotiations and the absence of a national strategy for steel to give the level playing field the industry has been repeatedly calling for.
“Government must step up and do its duty to this key British industry and its workforce.”
Shadow Steel Minister Gill Furniss said: “The UK steel industry is critical to our manufacturing base and is strategically important to UK industry.
“The Government must intervene.
“Administration would be devastating for the thousands of workers and their families who rely on this key industry in a part of the country which has not had enough support and investment from Government over decades.
“ Labour will support our steel industry and the communities, jobs and wider industries which rely on this domestic production.”
The Mirror has been campaigning to Save Our Steel since the industry was battered by thousands of job losses and plant closures in 2015.
