Daily Mail - 17.08.2019

Page ^ Daily Mail, Saturday, August 17, 2019

S

teel is not just another

industry, not to me. It’s in my

soul, my blood, my DNA. Gen-

erations of men in my family

worked in the blast furnaces

on teesside, including my late

father and my maternal granddad.

So when I say I feel for the people of

Scunthorpe, a steel town just like my

own, it runs deep.

I know that there are thousands of fami-

lies who have lived through months of ago-

nising fear since British Steel went into

receivership in May. there are some in

teesside too, where it still has around 700

staff, the remnant of an operation that once

sustained an entire region.

Believe me, then, when I say I understand

the relief, even jubilation at the news that

the turkish army pension scheme has

offered to buy the business and save those

jobs. But I’m genuinely sorry to say that

the deal fills me with a deep sense of

unease and foreboding.

My fear is that a turkish takeover will

prove yet another chapter of despair for the

gallant steelmen who have endured so

much. the army is, of course, closely tied

to President erdogan, turkey’s authoritar-

ian leader, who has recently been holding

talks over arms deals with Russian presi-

dent Vladimir Putin.

Why does the turkish military, via its

pension scheme, want to get its hands on

our steel? Is it just an investment, or is

another agenda in play?

And why, given we have our own pension

funds controlling trillions of pounds of

assets, can’t it be sold to one of our own?

Perhaps potential British buyers are influ-

enced by the pervasive myth that steel in

this country is dying and not worth prop-

ping up. Nothing could be further from

the truth. Despite all the woes inflicted in

the past four decades, our manufacturers

produce 8million tonnes of high-quality

steel a year. the industry employs 32,

people directly and more than 52,000 on

top of that in the supply chain.

Of course, the sector is much smaller than

in the past. As recently as the early-Seven-

ties, it employed more than 300,000 people,

my dad and granddad among them.

the sad reality is we have allowed it to

wither away through a combination of

short-sighted government policies and

shoddy ownership, not through inherent

problems with the workforce or the prod-

uct. the Scunthorpe steelworks has been

passed like a parcel from one unsatisfactory

owner to another and there is nothing

about the proposed turkish takeover to

suggest this shameful record has changed.

Most recently it was owned by Greybull

Capital, a company founded and run by a

group of super-rich private equity barons.

they took it over for a token £1 in 2016,

revived the old British Steel brand name

and promised to restore its fortunes. this

spring, just three years later, the Official

Receiver was called in. Before that, it was

owned by Indian conglomerate tata.

Steel-making is by its nature a cyclical

business and there are times when it needs

a helping hand, yet successive UK govern-

ments have failed to offer one.

Instead, they have pursued policies that

put our industry at a grave disadvantage.

Plants are subjected to heavy business

rates and they are forced to pay 51 per cent

more for the electricity they use than Ger-

man producers and 110 per cent more than

French steelmakers. the uncertainty over

Brexit has not helped. If there is No Deal,

much of our steel exports could be sub-

jected to big tariffs.

Y

et demand is rising around the world

and could be filled by UK producers.

Steel is needed to make virtually eve-

rything from wind turbines to trains,

buildings, cars and coins. It is also, of

course, key to our defence industry.

Surely this gives pause for thought that a

turkish army retirement fund, run by a

former general, is being hailed as a saviour?

If British Steel is sold off, at the very least

the UK government should insist on keep-

ing a golden share and a seat on the board

so we have some control.

there are things the Government can do

now even now to save our steel. Boris John-

son has said he wants to kick-start infra-

structure projects.

He should set a priority on buying British

steel for all of them. Only 43 per cent of the

steel procured by the UK government is

sourced domestically at present.

My father was made redundant from the

steelworks in the 1980s. It broke his heart,

and it makes me sad and angry even now,

but it is a consolation that the steel he and

other teessiders made is everywhere from

the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Churchill’s

War Rooms in Whitehall.

When I took my niece there a couple of

years ago, my heart thumped in my chest

when I pointed out the manufacturer’s

name on the girders, a marker of her herit-

age and mine.

Yes, I am emotional about this, but there

are hard facts to support my belief that

steel in this country not only has a great

past but could also have a great future. Will

it be achieved through this turkish deal?

Sadly, I doubt it.

Should we really let Turks’

military buy British Steel?

MY FAMILY OF

STEEL WORKERS

BUILT THE

WORLD. HOW

THEY WOULD

LOATHE THIS

SELL-OFF

tHe proposed sale of British

Steel to the turkish military’s

pension fund triggered alarm

at Westminster last night.

the Commons defence commit-

tee chief said industries with a

‘strong defence dimension’ should

remain under British control.

Prospective buyer, the turkish

Armed Forces Assistance Fund –

known as Oyak – has been chosen

above several other bidders

including British-based liberty,

which already owns several

steelworks in the UK.

the deal is expected to be signed

in two months, once the compa-

ny’s finances have been checked,

and could save all 4,000 jobs at

risk if a buyer can’t be found.

Oyak, which also owns steel

mills in turkey, is believed to be

offering around £70million for the

business, alongside a promise to

invest £900million to double pro-

duction. the Government has

previously offered loans and

grants worth £300million to

sweeten any potential deal.

British Steel owns the

Scunthorpe steelworks where

3,000 people work and it employs

another 700 on teesside.

the firm was put into compul-

sory liquidation in May after res-

cue talks with the Government

broke down. Another 20,000 jobs

in the supply chain were put at

risk by the collapse of the talks

between the Government and

British Steel’s owner, private

equity firm Greybull.

Unions cautiously welcomed the

announcement. But defence

experts raised concerns over the

apparent ties between Oyak –

whose chairman is former army

general Mehmet tas – and Presi-

dent Recep erdogan’s govern-

ment in turkey. the country’s

defence minister and head of

armed forces attended Oyak’s

annual general meeting in May,

the Financial times reported.

turkey remains an ally through

Nato but it has cosied up to

Russia in recent years, forging

defence ties over Syria.

Dr Julian lewis, defence com-

mittee chairman, said: ‘No indus-

try with a strong defence dimen-

sion should pass out of the control

of British firms and jurisdiction.

‘turkey was once a strong and

reliable Nato ally, as far as Russia

is concerned, and a Muslim coun-

try that separated religion from

politics. What’s particularly con-

cerning is that neither of those

things is true today.

‘While the proposed deal is bet-

ter than seeing the industry col-

lapse completely, it is much less

desirable than having the com-

pany under British control.’

Oyak has also been accused of

corruption by a parliamentary

commission in its home country.

Dr Andrew Foxall, of think-tank,

the Henry Jackson Society, said:

‘Recep erdogan has set the coun-

try on a course toward authoritar-

ianism in recent years.

‘Flirting with Russia and China

while oppressing its people, tur-

key is increasingly turning its back

on the West.

‘Given that British Steel is cru-

cial to our national infrastructure,

Holdings, offered around £70mil-

lion in line with other bidders

including liberty Steel, which res-

cued mills in Wales, Yorkshire and

Scotland in 2017.

Roy Rickhuss, of union Commu-

nity, said: ‘this is an important

milestone, and will be hugely

encouraging to the workforce.

‘We will want to be assured that

Ataer has a long-term strategy to

invest in the assets and develop

the business.’

Business Secretary Andrea

leadsom said: ‘this is an impor-

tant and positive step forward in

securing the future of British

Steel. I am committed to a

modern and sustainable future for

the industry that is productive

and supports a skilled and highly

valued workforce.’

Oyak said it is run by independ-

ent managers, does not receive

contributions from the turkish

government and adheres to strict

corporate governance principles.

By Tom Witherow

‘Crucial to national

infrastructure’

the Government should consider

extra steps to safeguard it under

turkish ownership.’

Steel is considered a strategic

industry, because companies like

British Steel provide materials

to build warships and railways.

Oyak, which will purchase the

plants through subsidiary Ataer

COMMENTARY

by Ruth

Sunderland

BUSINESS EDITOR

V