Unions are calling for the UK Government to take control of a troubled Scots steelworks as part of a wider nationalisation of the faltering industry.
The Dalzell plate mill in Motherwell has lain idle for more than six years with staff furloughed or employed on a care and maintenance basis.
The factory is reportedly set to resume production next week using imported steel plate from Kazakhstan - instead of purchasing metals made in the UK.
Call to merge with British Steel
But unions believe there is now a unique opportunity for Andy Burnham's Government to take control of the site and merge it with the wider British Steel business, which was nationalised in January.
Dalzell, which has not filed accounts for five years, is viewed as strategically important as it produces plate used in naval shipbuilding on the Clyde.
"It is right that there is full consideration of how the strong synergies that exist with other businesses — including British Steel — can be fully utilised," said Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary at Community, told the FT.
Union and industry support
The union, which represents 100 staff at Dalzell, said British Steel makes the raw steel slabs which the Motherwell site could heat and roll into metal plates for the navy.
Gareth Stace, director-general of UK Steel, an industry body, said there was a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to look at the synergies.
Metals production in Scotland has shrunk over the last decade to the Dalzell mill and the Lochaber aluminium smelter, near Fort William.
The Record previously revealed the Clydebridge steelworks, near Cambuslang, has been marketed for sale - with insiders viewing it as unlikely the site will ever resume production.
Ownership and government response
All are owned by the GFG Alliance ran by Indian metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta.
The business supremo bought the Dalzell and Clydebridge mills with the help of a £7 million loan from the Scottish Government to his Liberty Steel Group in 2017.
But Gupta is now battling numerous legal claims from creditors and a criminal prosecution for failing to file accounts on time.
A UK Government spokesperson said: "We recognise the importance of the Dalzell site to the workforce, local community and the UK’s wider capability but responsibility for the site remains with Liberty Steel as the private owner."
Pamela Nash, Labour MP for Motherwell, has previously backed calls for the newly nationalised British Steel to send work to Dalzell.
She said: "Steel is absolutely critical for our infrastructure, national security and jobs."
"The iconic mill, right in the heart of Motherwell is both central to our Scottish industrial heritage and our industrial future. The steel it produced still holds up bridges and buildings around the world. And it should be used to create the infrastructure, buildings and in our defence industry in the future."
The UK Government's steel strategy has set an ambitious target for the UK to boost domestic production so that it can meet 50 per cent of domestic demand for steel, up from the current 30 per cent.
