Babak Belurs

Rabu, 13 November 2019

World War 3: Secret plans to silence UK public after nuclear strike revealed - Express.co.uk

During the Sixties, the world arguably came the closest to all-out nuclear war in its history as the US and Soviet Union tussled over ultimate supremacy both on the ground and in space. These tensions arguably reached their pinnacle in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, after Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed to fulfil Fidel Castro’s request to place nuclear missiles in Cuba. The discovery ultimately led to a 13-day stand-off as the pair both threatened to obliterate each other with nuclear warheads and the Government, under the leadership of Harold Wilson, were also put on alert.

Historian Julie McDowall revealed the chilling knock-on effects of this period during “Dan Snow’s History Hit“ podcast earlier this month, exposing the Government’s plan should Britain come under fire.

She said: “The Government, of course, had plenty of bunkers all over the country for regional seats.

“The idea for that was, after a nuclear war, you assume London is gone, and so there would be no Westminster, no Whitehall.

“So it [the Government] would have to scatter across the country and break up into little chunks and each region would have its own bunker filled with local counsellors, local politicians and one Cabinet minister who would effectively be the Prime Minister of that little region.

Harold Wilson's Government would cut phone lines

Harold Wilson's Government would cut phone lines (Image: GETTY)

The Cuban Missile Crisis began in 1962

The Cuban Missile Crisis began in 1962 (Image: GETTY)

One of the measures they would employ would be to cut off all the phone lines
Julie McDowall

“In the advance of nuclear war and the run-up to it, the Government hoped there would be a period of international tension or even a conventional war that eventually turned nuclear.”

Ms McDowall explained how this period of uncertainty would buy the Government some time, allowing for contingency plans to be put in place.

She added: “In this run-up period, one of the measures they would employ would be to cut off all the phone lines so that worried relatives can’t phone their family to see what’s happening or where they were going.

“All the phone lines would be cut off, except for, of course, VIP lines.

“But if you were living in a normal residence and you picked up your phone and it was still working, then that was quite a sinister sign, because that meant the Government had made sure your phone line was still working.

The Soviet Union threeatened the world

The Soviet Union threeatened the world (Image: GETTY)

“The implications there were that your residence had been earmarked for Government use.”

However, their plans were torpedoed.

According to Ms McDowall, some local governments refused to comply.

She explained: “Lots of politicians assumed they would be able to take their families too, then they were told ‘no you cannot’.

“Of course, back in the Cold War, it was only men who would be doing this because it was mainly men who were in charge.

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Government officials working in a bunker

Government officials working in a bunker (Image: GETTY)

Some of the bunkers have beem opened to the public agains

Some of the bunkers have beem opened to the public agains (Image: GETTY)

“A lot of these men simply said: ‘I’m not doing it, strike my name off the list, I’m not leaving my wife and kids’.

“A lot of people including politicians declared what were called ‘Nuclear Free Zones,’ Sheffield and Manchester council both declared themselves.

“They said ‘we’re having nothing to do with this, we’re not building a shelter,’ they were obliged to by law, but they refused to go along with the silly charades.”

Ms McDowall went on to detail why this plan was so important for the Government.

She added: “They didn’t want to get in the shelter and leave the rest of the population above ground to burn and die.

Gorbachev and Reagan brought an end to tensions

Gorbachev and Reagan brought an end to tensions (Image: GETTY)

The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991

The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 (Image: GETTY)

“That was Whitehall’s main concern once the Hydrogen bomb came in, it was obvious that millions and millions of Britons would die.

“We stopped thinking about how we could save people on the surface, the concerns switched to what they call continuity of Government.

“The Government’s main concern must be making sure Britain can continue, even if it was just a few guys in suits in bunkers.

“At least they could still come above ground eventually with a flag and say ‘Britain is still here’."

The Cold War tensions would last for more than 40 years until a change in Soviet mindset under Mikhail Gorbachev led to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

However, the eighth and last leader revealed in 2006 his real thoughts on what caused the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.

He said: “The nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, even more than my launch of Perestroika, was perhaps the real cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union five years later.”

The Chernobyl disaster was a devastating nuclear accident that occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near the city of Pripyat, Ukraine on April 25, 1986.

It is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history and is one of only two nuclear energy disasters rated at seven – the maximum severity – on the International Nuclear Event Scale, the other being the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan.

World War 3 flashpoints

World War 3 flashpoints (Image: GETTY)

Initially, after the Chernobyl disaster, Mr Gorbachev and the Communist Party downplayed the incident both domestically and on the world stage, calling it a minor event that “requires no special measures to protect the population".

Moscow's handling of the disaster went on to expose the reality of human error within the Soviet system and introduced doubt and questions of competence directed at the Kremlin not seen since before World War 2.

Mr Gorbachev was unable to recover and as questions mounted so did the pressure, until eventually the regime collapsed and the Berlin Wall coming down will forever be seen as the moment symbolising the Soviet Union's demise.

However, these comments suggest that Chernobyl was the real turning point in Soviet history and the disaster arguably made the wall coming down an inevitability.

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https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1202757/world-war-3-uk-phone-line-cut-nuclear-strike-soviet-union-cold-war-spt

2019-11-13 07:32:00Z
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McDonald's UK staff join global day of protests over pay - BBC News

McDonald's workers in the UK have gone on strike as part of a global day of protests over pay.

Staff at six London stores walked out, while protests were held across the UK. There was also action in the US, France, Germany, Brazil and Chile.

McDonald's said that the strikers represented a "tiny proportion" of its UK workforce.

The fast food giant was also hit with a legal action in the US over sexual harassment claims.

The lawsuit alleges rampant harassment at a Michigan McDonald's franchise, which went ignored by management and was "emblematic" of a broader problem at the company.

The filing adds to roughly 50 complaints filed against the company in recent years over sexual harassment, according to the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund, which is working on the suit.

McDonald's has said it has revamped its harassment training and policies in recent years and is working with its franchises to implement the updates. However, lawyers working on the suit say their clients have seen little change.

"They are the definition of window dressing," said Gillian Thomas, of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is working on the issue.

Workers in the protests are demanding an end to "poverty pay" rates and better terms and conditions.

In the UK, McDonald's workers are calling for a rise in pay to £15 an hour - over a third more than what they currently earn.

They also want an end to youth rates, the choice of guaranteed hours of up to 40 hours a week, notice of shifts four weeks in advance and recognition of their union, the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers' Union (BFAWU).

An employee at Crayford McDonald's in London, Lewis Baker, said he will be striking because he struggles to pay rent on his income of £8.80 an hour.

Mr Baker, 29, said: "There are a lot of workers who are struggling to pay their bills and get by day to day.

"We don't have set hours, so we don't always earn enough to pay the bills.

"If we got £15 an hour, it would have a massive impact - I would be able to afford to pay my rent, to pay my bills, go on holiday and have some kind of work-life balance."

'Poverty pay'

Melissa Evans, 32, a mum who works at McDonald's in Wandsworth Town, London, said McDonald's workers deserved "the same level of respect as everyone else".

"We are coming together to tackle poverty pay, insecurity of hours and lack of respect, which has gone on at McDonald's for too long."

This is the fourth time McDonald's workers in the UK have gone on strike since September 2017, with each successive strike getting bigger.

There has also been strike action around the world over the fast-food giant's pay rates, with thousands walking out in the US.

The company has faced criticism for paying executives large salaries, while employees on the shopfloor struggle to get by.

There were protests in five German cities on Tuesday, including Berlin and Hamburg, and also in Belgium. There were protests in Israel last week, and action is expected in New Zealand next week.

'Fighting back'

Former boss Steve Easterbrook - who was fired last week for having a relationship with an unnamed employee - received remuneration of $15.9m in 2018. That was 2,124 times the median McDonald's employee salary of $7,473.

The UK's shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, who joined workers outside Downing Street, the prime minister's residence in central London, said low pay and insecure work were "endemic" in the fast-food industry.

Owen Espley of charity War on Want, which is backing the strikes, said McDonald's workers were exploited but were "fighting back. [They are] demanding respect and a fair share of the profits".

Speaking about the action in London, a McDonald's spokesman said: "We are extremely disappointed that a very small number of our people in just a handful of our restaurants are considering industrial action.

"We understand only nine people are involved across six restaurants, which is a tiny proportion of our 130,000 workforce and 1,300 restaurants."

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2019-11-13 00:46:18Z
52780433257351

Selasa, 12 November 2019

'Shameful': Hillary Clinton slams UK's decision to withhold report on Russian political influence - CNBC

Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders debate at the CNN Brooklyn Navy Yard Democratic Debate, New York, April 14, 2016.

David Hume Kennerly | Archive Photos | Getty Images

The U.K. government's decision to delay the publication of a report on alleged Russian interference in British politics has been slammed as "inexplicable and shameful" by former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Speaking to the BBC Monday, Clinton said she was "dumbfounded that this government won't release the report about Russian influence because every person who votes in this country (the U.K.) deserves to see that report before your election happens."

"I find it inexplicable that your government will not release a government report about Russian influence. Inexplicable and shameful," she said.

Clinton's comments refer to a decision by the U.K. government to delay the publication of a report investigating Russian influence in British politics until after a general election on December 12.

The BBC said the report "includes allegations of espionage, subversion and interference in elections." "It contains evidence from U.K. intelligence services such as GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 concerning covert Russian attempts to influence the outcome of the 2016 EU referendum and 2017 general election," the BBC said.

Russia is believed to have interfered in the 2016 U.S. election that saw Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton to the presidency. Allegations of Russian interference prompted a near two-year long investigation led by Robert Mueller. The inquiry said that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in "sweeping and systematic fashion" and had been designed to favor Trump and harm Clinton's campaign.

Mueller said the inquiry did not establish that the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference campaign.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today program on Monday, Clinton said "there is no doubt - we know it in our country, we have seen it in Europe, we have seen it here - that Russia in particular is determined to try to shape the politics of western democracies.

"Not to our benefit, but to theirs," she said, "there's no doubt of the role that Russia played in our 2016 election and is continuing to play."

Russia's interference in the U.S. election was seen as ranging from the leaking of documents to using social media to spread propaganda.

On Tuesday, the opposition Labour party said it had been subjected to a "sophisticated and large-scale cyber attack" on its digital platforms and the BBC quoted one unnamed Labour source as saying it had detected "tens of millions of attacks — mostly originating from Russia and Brazil." It said the attack had failed because of its security system and that no data breach had occurred.

Government criticism

The U.K. government has attracted widespread criticism after it announced last Monday that it would not allow a report examining Russian infiltration into U.K. politics to be published prior to the dissolution of Parliament ahead of the election.

The report was compiled by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) and includes analysis from British intelligence agencies. It requires clearance from the government to be released.

A government minister said on Tuesday that the report had not yet been published because of necessary procedure. Speaking to broadcaster ITV, the Deputy Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said "it is absolutely normal that reports like this go through a period of vetting which does take several weeks." He also said all donations to the Conservative party were transparent and fully in accordance with the rules, Reuters reported. For its part, Russia has previously denied meddling in foreign elections.

With political parties in full campaign mode ahead of the general election next month, the government was accused of a cover-up by the opposition Labour Party. The Sunday Times newspaper also reported that nine Russian donors to the ruling Conservative Party have been named in the secret intelligence report. It also said that intelligence agencies are "furious" over the government's block on the publication of the report.

But a government minister of state defended the delay of the report, telling parliament last week that it was "not unusual" for delays to happen when reviewing and responding to ISC reports. He also stated that the Prime Minister Boris Johnson had been busy in recent weeks obtaining a Brexit deal.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/12/hillary-clinton-criticises-uks-decision-to-withhold-russia-report.html

2019-11-12 07:57:00Z
52780433036028

UK growth 'slowest in almost a decade' - BBC News

Britain's economy has grown at the slowest annual rate in almost a decade, according to official figures.

Year-on-year growth in the three months to end-September slowed to 1% from 1.3% in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics said.

An ONS spokesman said: "Looking at the picture over the last year, growth slowed to its lowest rate in almost a decade."

But the economy avoided a recession by growing 0.3% in the third quarter.

The economy had shrunk in the second quarter and two quarters of contraction would have signalled a recession.

What happened in the three-month period?

Despite the economy expanding by 0.3% in the third quarter, it was not as fast as the 0.4% forecast by economists, including at the Bank of England.

A statistician at the ONS said GDP grew "steadily" in the third quarter. That was largely as a result of a "strong July".

"The underlying trade deficit narrowed, mainly due to growing exports of both goods and services."

What happened in September?

In the month of September, GDP fell by 0.1%, as had been expected.

But the ONS revised down the contraction in August to 0.2% from 0.1%.

It was the growth of 0.3% in July that drove the economy in the whole of the third quarter.

John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC, said: "The fact that growth was positive in the third quarter was largely due to a strong July.

"Output then fell back in August and September, which points to a lack of momentum in the economy going into the fourth quarter."

How did the different parts of the economy perform?

The statistician at the ONS said: "Services again led the way, with construction also performing well.

"Manufacturing failed to grow, as falls in many industries were offset by car production bouncing back following April shutdowns."

The ONS said the construction sector showed its first positive growth for a rolling three-month period since May.

Production was flat in the three months to September and has not shown growth over a rolling three-month period since April.

Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: "The dominant services sector was the main driver of GDP growth in the quarter with industrial production and construction sectors adding little to overall UK GDP growth."

What does it tell us about the economy?

Ruth Gregory, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, said that while the economy avoided a recession in the third quarter, the economy was "pretty soft".

"The GDP figures suggest that the economy failed to regain much momentum after the the second-quarter contraction."

Tej Parikh, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said that "a return to growth is welcome news, but narrowly avoiding a recession is nothing to celebrate".

"The UK economy has been in stop-start mode all year, with growth punctuated by the various Brexit deadlines," he added.

Ms Gregory added: "While the election is just under five weeks away, clearly this isn't the good news the government might have hoped for."

Was Brexit stockpiling important?

The economy had unexpectedly contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter - the March to June period - when Brexit stockpiles were unwound after the first Brexit date of 29 March.

Samuel Tombs, economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said a "renewed stockpiling boost" failed to materalise in the third quarter.

"It possible that stockpiling occurred to a greater extent at the start of the fourth quarter," he said, adding fourth-quarter growth might not be depressed to the extent he expected.

But Mr Parikh said that "the final quarter of 2019 could be weaker as stockpiles continue to be run down".

What are the politicians saying?

The Chancellor, Sajid Javid, said there figures were "another welcome sign that the fundamentals of the UK economy are strong. Under the conservatives, we've seen nine consecutive years of growth".

He added: "What it also shows is the real risk to growth in our economy is Corbyn's Labour. If they get their way, two referendums in 2020, eye watering amounts of spending and borrowing and debt, that kind of economic vandalism will bring growth in this country to a halt."

But John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said: "The fact that the government will be celebrating 0.1% growth in the last six months is a sign of how low their hopes and expectations for our economy are."

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat's deputy leader said: "The economy under the Tories is anaemic."

As much as it would be a relief that a formal recession has been avoided, the picture is very sluggish, in keeping with what has been called a "slow puncture" economy.

Growth of 0.3% between July and September is clearly preferable to another quarter of contraction, but still slow by normal historical standards.

Indeed, comparing the third quarter this year with the same period last year, growth of just 1% is the slowest since the aftermath of the financial crisis. It is the weakest two quarters since the financial crisis.

The background is a slower European and world economy reeling from trade wars.

But years of damaged business investment, after the Brexit referendum, are taking their toll on growth.

The latest figures in the month of September showed a contraction of 0.1%. Data has been volatile this year, with car industry shutdowns and two bouts of ultimately unneeded no-deal Brexit stockpiling.

So recession avoided, but this is not the "bounce back" promised by some.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50373505

2019-11-12 06:12:14Z
52780432851375

Senin, 11 November 2019

UK growth 'slowest in almost a decade' - BBC News

Britain's economy has grown at the slowest annual rate in almost a decade, according to official figures.

Year-on-year growth in the three months to end-September slowed to 1% from 1.3% in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics said.

An ONS spokesman said: "Looking at the picture over the last year, growth slowed to its lowest rate in almost a decade."

But the economy avoided a recession by growing 0.3% in the third quarter.

The economy had shrunk in the second quarter and two quarters of contraction would have signalled a recession.

What happened in the three-month period?

Despite the economy expanding by 0.3% in the third quarter, it was not as fast as the 0.4% forecast by economists, including at the Bank of England.

A statistician at the ONS said GDP grew "steadily" in the third quarter. That was largely as a result of a "strong July".

"The underlying trade deficit narrowed, mainly due to growing exports of both goods and services."

What happened in September?

In the month of September, GDP fell by 0.1%, as had been expected.

But the ONS revised down the contraction in August to 0.2% from 0.1%.

It was the growth of 0.3% in July that drove the economy in the whole of the third quarter.

John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC, said: "The fact that growth was positive in the third quarter was largely due to a strong July.

"Output then fell back in August and September, which points to a lack of momentum in the economy going into the fourth quarter."

How did the different parts of the economy perform?

The statistician at the ONS said: "Services again led the way, with construction also performing well.

"Manufacturing failed to grow, as falls in many industries were offset by car production bouncing back following April shutdowns."

The ONS said the construction sector showed its first positive growth for a rolling three-month period since May.

Production was flat in the three months to September and has not shown growth over a rolling three-month period since April.

What does it tell us about the economy?

Ruth Gregory, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, said that while the economy avoided a recession in the third quarter, the economy was "pretty soft".

"The GDP figures suggest that the economy failed to regain much momentum after the the second-quarter contraction."

Tej Parikh, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, said that "a return to growth is welcome news, but narrowly avoiding a recession is nothing to celebrate".

"The UK economy has been in stop-start mode all year, with growth punctuated by the various Brexit deadlines," he added.

Ms Gregory added: "While the election is just under five weeks away, clearly this isn't the good news the government might have hoped for."

Was Brexit stockpiling important?

The economy had unexpectedly contracted by 0.2% in the second quarter - the March to June period - when Brexit stockpiles were unwound after the first Brexit date of 29 March.

Samuel Tombs, economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said a "renewed stockpiling boost" failed to materalise in the third quarter.

"It possible that stockpiling occurred to a greater extent at the start of the fourth quarter," he said, adding fourth-quarter growth might not be depressed to the extent he expected.

But Mr Parikh said that "the final quarter of 2019 could be weaker as stockpiles continue to be run down".

What are the politicians saying?

The Chancellor, Sajid Javid, said there figures were "another welcome sign that the fundamentals of the UK economy are strong. Under the conservatives, we've seen nine consecutive years of growth".

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat's deputy leader said: "The economy under the Tories is anaemic."

As much as it would be a relief that a formal recession has been avoided, the picture is very sluggish, in keeping with what has been called a "slow puncture" economy.

Growth of 0.3% between July and September is clearly preferable to another quarter of contraction, but still slow by normal historical standards.

The background is a slower European and world economy reeling from trade wars.

But years of damaged business investment, after the Brexit referendum, are taking their toll on growth.

So recession avoided, but this is not the "bounce back" promised by some.

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2019-11-11 13:27:02Z
52780432851375

UK economy avoids recession with third-quarter growth rebound - CNBC

An employee works on an engine production line at a Ford factory on January 13, 2015

Carl Court | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The British economy has avoided slipping into a technical recession, after official data Monday showed the third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) at 0.3%.

The data marks a rebound from the second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) which contracted by 0.2%.

On a year-on-year basis, third-quarter growth slowed to 1%. This marked the slowest rate of expansion since the first three months of 2010.

On a month-to-month measure, September GDP alone marked a 0.1% contraction. Manufacturing data for September revealed a 0.4% contraction from August and a 1.8% fall from September 2019.

Both figures were a touch worse than a consensus of forecasts collated by Reuters.

Services output for September came in flat at 0.0% month-on-month and up 1.3% year-on-year. Industrial output and construction activity for the month also contracted from August figures.

There was very little initial reaction in the pound-versus-dollar trade. Just prior to the decision, sterling was trading at $1.2804 and this dipped to $1.2797 after the data drop.

Speaking to CNBC's Street Signs on Monday, Ross Walker, Head of UK & European Economics at Natwest Markets, said the figures were "slightly disappointing."

Walker said there had been some modest growth in retails sales and he had hoped this might prop growth up a little more.

"Underlying growth in the U.K. is clearly below trend," he said before adding that when accounting for Brexit-related swings in production, the data looked "a little bit tepid."

The Bank of England said last week that trend growth in the U.K. was currently about half of that in 2018.

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2019-11-11 09:31:00Z
52780432851375

British Steel to be rescued by Chinese firm in £70m deal - BBC News

British Steel is set to announce a rescue deal with China's Jingye Group, which could safeguard up to 4,000 jobs in the UK.

Jingye Group has agreed in principle to buy British Steel for £70m.

It is understood that the government will help in the form of loan guarantees and other financial support.

British Steel has been kept running by the government via the Official Receiver since May, when the company went into liquidation.

As well as employing 4,000 people at its Scunthorpe and Teesside sites, British Steel supports an additional 20,000 jobs in the supply chain.

Another 1,000 jobs are based in France and the Netherlands - those are included in the deal too.

It is expected that an agreement will be signed, but that the company will continue to be run by the Official Receiver for at least a month before being transferred.

Why is this news so important?

Gareth Stace, director general of industry lobby group UK Steel, told BBC Radio 4's Today that the business being bought was a "significant asset to our country" as it makes up a third of UK steel production, mostly from Scunthorpe.

He said that there was a need for "very significant investment" in the Scunthorpe works and that was why the expected announcement from Jingye was "really welcome".

"Jingye are looking to make significant investment, are in for the longer term and therefore it isn't about keeping this site going for a year or two or a couple of years. To me, what I understand about the company, it's about looking to the future, so we're not going to be back in here in three years, five years, in 10 years' time."

The firm had previously been in rescue talks with Ataer, which is a subsidiary of Turkey's state military retirement scheme Oyak.

What is in it for Jingye?

What does a steel maker from Hebei province, south-west of Beijing, see in a struggling plant in Scunthorpe? It is difficult to know, particularly when we know so little about the buyer of British Steel, Jingye Group.

There is little publicly available information - certainly no set of accounts - but the organisation's Facebook page extols its rapid rise to become a big player in steel in just 20 years.

In the process, it has "laid an extraordinary road of development with wisdom and perspiration", the voiceover of one of promotional video says, with ranks of identically overalled workers smiling on the steps of its rather grand headquarters.

On the face of it, the Chinese buyer will be interested in the products that British Steel makes that it does not. British Steel is a specialist in railway tracks, "long products", a catch-all term for girders used in construction, and the high-quality steel wire used in car tyres and dozens of other industrial applications.

Jingye does not appear to make the first two, so the purchase of British Steel should bring it some valuable technology and new product lines. That plus has to be set against the need for investment at Scunthorpe; if, as reported, Jingye wants to increase production, blast furnaces and coke ovens will have to be refurbished at a price tag estimated at £500m.

What British Steel workers will fervently hope is that the Jingye commitment is long-term and that this is not another false dawn.

According to Mr Stace, British Steel's output complements Jingye. He says both British Steel and Jingye make wire rods, but there is one crucial difference.

"Actually British Steel makes rail, high-quality rail and heavy sections, ie girders, which Jingye doesn't make. [So it] not only increases the amount of different products that Jingye could make but also, much more importantly, secures a foothold in the UK."

Will British Steel now turn the corner?

Mr Stace said he believed the steel industry in the UK could now compete globally and he was publishing a manifesto with ideas for change.

"But the problem we have is we have a uncompetitive business landscape in the UK. government can change that," he added.

"I'm talking about energy costs, business rates, procurement - the government buying more steel from the UK - free and fair trade, and even much more support for R&D [research and development], which we are going to lose when we fall out of the EU."

He said: "What government needs to do is give us that business landscape. We can thrive on the global market and generate highly paid, highly skilled jobs for the UK economy."

What happens now?

It is expected that the employees will be briefed on the latest developments this morning as they come to work. A formal announcement is due later on Monday morning or early afternoon.

In the long term, it is believed that while Jingye Group has promised to increase production, it has also warned costs may need to be cut.

The Chinese group is reportedly aiming to increase production at Scunthorpe from 2.5 million tonnes per year to more than three million.

Jingye's chairman, Li Ganpo, recently visited British Steel's sites and met Scunthorpe MP Nic Dakin and Andrew Percy, representative for the Brigg and Goole constituency.

Mr Percy told the Grimsby Telegraph he had been given assurances over the company's future.

What are trade unions saying?

Community, a UK trade union which absorbed the old Iron & Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC) body, said: "If this is confirmed, then we welcome this positive step towards securing British Steel under new ownership,

"The fact that there has been ongoing interest from both Ataer and now Jingye rightly demonstrates that potential buyers believe that British Steel can have a sustainable future."

Meanwhile, Ross Murdoch, national officer for the GMB union, said: "On the face of it, we cautiously welcome this sale, which finally provides some light at the end of the tunnel for 4,000 British Steel workers.

"GMB also met with Chairman Li and his senior team in Scunthorpe on 30 October. We were impressed with the passion and enthusiasm from the Jingye team.

"However, due diligence on this sale was completed very quickly and the devil will be in the detail."

The UK industry has been struggling for a number of years amid claims that China has been flooding the market with cheap steel. In 2016 the EU imposed tariffs of up to 73.7% on Chinese steel after an influx of cheap imports from Asia forced European manufacturers to cut jobs and lower prices.

Who is Jingye Group?

Jingye has 23,500 employees and as well as its main steel and iron making businesses, but also engages in tourism, hotels and real estate.

It has total registered assets of 39bn yuan (£4.4bn). According to its website, Jingye Group ranked 217th among the top 500 enterprises in China in 2019.

The firm sells its products nationwide and exports them to more than 80 countries and regions.

Jingye's products have been used in major projects such as Beijing Daxing International Airport and the underground system in Shijiazhuang.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50369413

2019-11-11 09:09:26Z
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