Richard Tice has accused the government of “wokery” for failing to buy British steel when procuring materials for military projects.
Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice has called for answers (Image: Getty)
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has come under fire after it emerged that it had imported steel rather than buying British.
The UK steel industry has been battered in recent years, with steel works in places such as Port Talbot closing down as production continues to soar in Asia.
In a written parliamentary question, Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, asked the government how it was planning to address the issue of steel security for projects involving critical national infrastructure whilst ensuring value for money.
Insisting that the MoD should be buying British steel he said: “That starts from the Government, whether it’s food or steel, we should buy British.
“Net zero wokery has led to the loss of business and loss of jobs because decarbonisation means deindustrialisation.”
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British steel has been hit by major closures in recent years (Image: Getty)
He added: “The MoD is betraying thousands of skilled steel workers up and down the country by favouring woke net zero steel from overseas,” the Telegraph reports.
The UK has committed to legally binding net zero targets to stop adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2050.
The steel town of Port Talbot has recently been left devastated after Indian owned Tata Steel ceased operations in the town in favour of moving its operation to India.
The steel conglomerate said at the time that it was experiencing losses of up to £1 million a day, making the plant economically inviable.
In September Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, agreed to a deal with the Indian owners of the Port Talbot steelworks that would lead to thousands of job losses.
It is hoped that a new electric arc furnace, at a cost of £500 million of taxpayers’ cash, will restore some of the jobs lost in the town.
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The operation at Port Talbot closed this year as the operation moved to India (Image: Getty)
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At the time Greg Smith, the Conservative shadow business and trade minister, said the deal was indicative of “the new Labour playbook: scrap jobs, scrap production and become reliant on higher-polluting countries”.
An MoD spokesperson said: “The UK steel industry plays a vital role in defence, to both our national security and economic growth, including being used in the production of warships and submarines.
“This Government recently signed the Trinity House Agreement between the UK and Germany, which will see the UK manufacture artillery gun barrels for the first time in 10 years, using British steel produced by Sheffield Forgemasters.
“As part of our Defence Industrial Strategy, we will ensure a strong defence sector and resilient supply chains, including steel, across the whole of the UK.”
