UK Steel Production: Greensill Capital

Antony Higginbotham Excerpts
Thursday 25th March 2021

(3 years, 7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Kwasi Kwarteng Portrait Kwasi Kwarteng
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The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. My understanding is that the Scottish Government are very exposed to Greensill’s financial engineering—let me put it that way—and there should be far greater transparency in this regard.

Antony Higginbotham Portrait Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)
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A strong domestic steel industry is vital to so much of what the Government do, from frigates and submarines to schemes such as HS2. With that in mind, may I ask the Secretary of State whether he will work with colleagues across all of Government—not just with the Treasury, but with the Ministry of Defence and the Transport Department—to ensure that we protect this strategic sovereign capability?

Kwasi Kwarteng Portrait Kwasi Kwarteng
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is crucial that we work across Government to look at procurement and the strategic interests of this country in having a strong steel industry, as he describes, and in order to work out how best to progress with this key sector.