Government should step in to save steel jobs, says Doncaster MP Ed Miliband

The shadow business secretary described the situation as "urgent and worrying" and said that nothing should be off the table, including nationalisation, to save thousands of jobs at the firm, which has a plant in Rotherham.

"These are crucial jobs for communities up and down this country," he said.

Liberty owns 12 steel plants in the UK and employs 5,000 people.

Mr Milliband said the plants are "a crucial part of our strategic infrastructure, are crucial for the aerospace sector to automotive. Let's hope that Liberty steel can find that the refinancing that it's looking for but the government needs a plan B to make sure whatever happens, these jobs are saved."

The collapse of the company's main financial backer, Greensill Capital, last week has sparked concerns about the future of workers.

Mr Miliband said the government needed a to consider every option available to save the company. "If there's one lesson we learned from this pandemic it's that our strategic infrastructure, our resilience really matters. And steel is a key part of our strategic infrastructure and resilience.

"We cannot afford to let these jobs go. Government has got to make sure it doesn't happen."

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