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Grangemouth closure 'not comparable' to British Steel, MPs told


 The closure of Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland is "not comparable" to the situation at British Steel in Sculthorpe, MPs have been told.


Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said an emergency law aimed at saving the Lincolnshire site from closure was an "exceptional situation".


SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn challenged Reynolds over similarities to the closure of the Scottish refinery on the Firth of Forth - with the loss of 400 jobs.


It came during a to pass legislation to save the the British Steel plant, opening the door for full nationalization.


Reynolds told the Commons: "I understand that some have asked about precedent or referenced other troubled industrial situations.


"To be clear again, this is an exceptional situation, a unique situation.


"The question for all members is whether we as a country want to continue to possess a steel industry, do we want to make the construction steel and rail we need here in the UK, or do we want to be dependent on overseas imports?"


Flynn asked Reynolds whether the Labor party would back a similar bill for Grangemouth.

Scotland's only oil refinery has been marked for closure by owner Petronels

About 400 of the 2,000 jobs that are based at the industrial complex will be lost.


The Aberdeen South MP said: "Many minds right now will be very much focused on the situation in Grangemouth, where we know that hundreds of jobs are going to be lost directly, thousands of jobs in the supply chain.


"Would the Labor Party back it in the same way as it is backing this Bill today?"


But Reynolds said the UK government had pledged £200m to secure Grangemouth's "long-term future".

He added: "It is not a comparable situation and the behavior of the company is not comparable to the situation in this case."


A report published last month said up to 800 jobs could be created over the next 15 years at the Grangemouth site


The Project Willow study, funded jointly by the Scottish and UK governments, sets out nine areas where there are potential opportunities for green industries.


It said jobs could be created in areas like sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen production and plastics recycling but it would require £3.5bn of private investment.



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