The potential nationalisation of British Steel in the name of ‘national security’ must make us ask what the government will justify next, writes Eliot Wilson

The dust has settled on the latest chapter of the British Steel saga. Parliament was recalled on Saturday 12 April and the government hustled through legislation which allowed it to “take control” of the troubled company, though it has not yet nationalised it. Ministers put on their most serious faces, and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the House of Commons that he was acting “to protect this nation’s assets and economic security”.

Emergencies are a good opportunity for governments, because the loudly ticking clock which hangs over them allows difficult questions to be brushed aside and hectically muddy thinking to be ignored. In this case, that cannot be allowed. If British Steel was taken under public control as a matter of national and economic security, we are entitled to ask what criteria apply to this category. In other words,........

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