Scunthorpe steelworkers face losing their jobs by Christmas – MP

Ms Jones said the previous administration had spent over a decade “lurching from crisis to crisis, with no clear plan to safeguard the future of a competitive domestic steel industry”.

“This government is determined to change that,” she said, adding “decarbonisation must not mean deindustrialisation”.

However, Conservative shadow business minister Greg Smith asked Ms Jones whether she had discussed electric arc furnaces with British Steel, and whether the firm would switch to foreign imports from China to fulfil its UK supply chain obligations.

In a statement, a British Steel spokesman said: “We are in ongoing discussions with the government about our decarbonisation plans and the future operations of our UK business.

“While progress continues, no final decisions have been made”.

North Lincolnshire Council granted British Steel planning permission for a new electric arc furnace in Scunthorpe last April.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has also given the green light to plans for an electric arc furnace at the firm’s Teesside site, as part of its £1.25bn decarbonisation plan.

Speaking in November, British Steel chief executive Xijun Cao said: “Our desire to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint, coupled with current market conditions, means we can’t wait and need to transform our business as quickly as possible.

“And while decarbonisation will not happen overnight, it’s imperative we take swift and decisive action to ensure a sustainable future for British Steel.”

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