A £300 million taxpayer-funded “sticking plaster” for struggling British Steel will do little for the company’s long-term future, general union GMB said today.

Soaring fuel prices have increased the problems of the energy-intensive industry and the government is expected to announce help for British Steel to replace its coal-burning blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, with electric alternatives.

GMB national officer Charlotte Brumpton-Childs welcomed the aid, but she added that “ultimately, this is a sticking plaster. It does nothing to address the wider issues in the industry: catastrophic energy costs and a grossly uneven international trading environment.”