‘Outright robbery’: China’s Jingye threatens UK with legal action after nationalisation of British Steel
BEIJING, July 19 — Jingye Steel demanded compensation and threatened the UK government with legal action today, after London took control of British Steel from the Chinese firm.
Jingye, which bought British Steel in 2020, lost control of it last year when the UK government intervened at the struggling firm.
Britain’s last factory capable of making steel from scratch had faced imminent closure after Jingye said the plant in Scunthorpe, northern England, was no longer financially viable.
The announcement prompted the government to step in and take control of it in April 2025, and on Thursday, the government announced that it had brought it into full public ownership.
But Jingye threatened legal action against the move and accused the UK government of “trampling on international investment rules” and “outright robbery” as it demanded compensation for “investment losses” in a statement on its official WeChat account today.
“Jingye reserves all legal rights, firmly defends its lawful rights and interests, and will pursue full compensation through legal means to the very end,” the company said.
The UK government said Thursday it had taken British Steel into full public ownership to “protect the future of steel production in the UK”, after taking control from Jingye.
On Friday, China’s commerce ministry said it opposed the move, and accused the UK of “forcibly” taking over the company “under the pretext of national security”
