Friday, 15 Nov 2024

Hands Off British Steel! Brexit Party fury over Chinese takeover of vital UK industry

We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Last year, the steel company plunged into insolvency after Government funding was scrapped and the Chinese company promised a “new chapter in British steelmaking”.

Jingye, which is run by a former Communist Party official, paid around £70million for the acquisition and saved around 3,200 jobs.

But as tensions with Beijing grow, the Brexit Party are demanding UK infrastructure should be own by UK firms.

Nigel Farage’s party conducted a survey of 37,000 people asking, “Are you comfortable that the Chinese firm Jingye acquired British Steel in March 2020, given that it provides key steel supplies for UK infrastructure?”

Out of those who voted between July 12 and July 18, around 96 percent said they were uneasy with the Chinese taking over the company.

Posting the results on Twitter, the party said: “Of 37,000 who took part in a survey of our supporters, 96 percent were uneasy with Jingye’s takeover of British Steel.

“46 percent said key UK infrastructure suppliers should be majority-owned by UK firms; 45 percent said they should be wholly owned by UK firms.”

Announcing the news back in March, business secretary Alok Sharma said: “Jingye has reached a significant milestone in securing a deal for the future of British Steel.

“Work continues towards completing the sale, which will give certainty to British Steel’s dedicated and talented workforce in Scunthorpe, Skinningrove and on Teesside.”

The Brexit Party anger comes after tensions between Britain and Beijing continue to rise.

Despite China having the second-largest economy in the world and its own space programme, it has emerged £71million of taxpayers’ money was given to the super-rich country in just one year, sparking calls for an inquiry.

The staggering figure was buried in the Department for International Development’s annual report, which was put out this week as MPs go on their summer break.

The money is also being spent on training primary school teachers and combating illegal trade in wildlife, despite numerous exotic meat farms still running throughout the Communist nation.

DON’T MISS 
‘Turn off the tap!’ Boris ordered to stop taxpayer handouts to China  [COMMENT] 

Andrew Pierce rages at UK ‘outrageous’ aid bill to China ‘Infuriating’ [INSIGHT] 
China’s debt rockets as Beijing tries to recover from coronavirus [REVEAL]

According to reports, the money is also used to support human rights despite Beijing’s crackdown of Uyghur Muslims.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, which was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said £3billion would be cut from the aid budget next year.

Last week, the UK suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in protest at the Chinese crackdown in the former British colony.

China responded with fury and warned they will make a “forceful counter-attack”, sparking fears of a World War 3 outbreak.

Mr Raab said the UK Government would not be re-activating the extradition treaty.

He said: “We will not consider re-activating those arrangements, unless and until there are clear and robust safeguards, which are able to prevent extradition from the UK being misused under the new national security legislation.”

The former British colony maintained its autonomy from Beijing since 1997 when the UK handed Hong Kong back to mainland China.

But in June, the Communist nation introduced a new security law viewed as an attempt to end Hong Kong’s independence.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the move and promised to offer up to three million residents a route to UK citizenship.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, China has become an international outcast following allegations of hacking, national security fears and human rights controversies.

Source: Read Full Article

Related Posts