UK takes control of British Steel under emergency powers 

News Briefing

The government took the drastic step of taking control of British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant over the weekend after enacting emergency legislation that was rushed through Parliament in a single day. 

The business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told MPs that the likely next step would be to nationalise the Scunthorpe plant. 

The government say they were forced to seek emergency powers to stop the Chinese owners, Jingype, from shutting down the two blast furnaces, which would have ended primary steel production in the UK. 

Since the shocking intervention from the British government, the UK headlines are assessing what could happen next with calls for the plant to be nationalised, rivals looking to buy the plant and fears the Chinese owners are trying to sabotage the site to force Britain to rely on cheap Chinese imports.

Manchester bomber plotter attacks three prison officers with hot oil and knife

England news

The Manchester bomber plotter has viciously attacked three prison officers. Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, Salman Abedi, attacked the prison officers with hot cooking oil and homemade weapons at HMP Frankland, leaving them with life-threatening injuries. 

The officers were hospitalised, with one female officer since discharged.

Abedi is already serving a 55-year sentence for his involvement in the 2017 bombing. He had previously assaulted a prison officer at Belmarsh prison. 

The attack has led to calls from unions representing prison officers for change to protect prison workers further – calls including banning prisoners from working in kitchens amid fears of copycat attacks.