China-owned British Steel said to have requested £600m of taxpayer support

British Steel plans to close its two blast furnaces at Scunthorpe and replace them with much cleaner electric arc furnaces in Scunthorpe and Redcar. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

Chinese-owned British Steel has reportedly submitted a request for a package of taxpayer support worth £600m as it looks for assistance from the next government to upgrade to less polluting technology.

Government officials are due to review plans that set out the costs of switching from blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces at the company’s steelworks in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, the Sunday Times reported.