Does Britain still need a steel industry?

London

THE UK once made nearly half the world's steel. Soon it may produce almost none.

Tata Steel Ltd plans to sell its UK business which includes the country's last blast furnace sites in Scunthorpe and Port Talbot. Used to turn iron ore into steel, these plants are the focus of the entire industry. They are also the assets that may prove the most difficult to unload, according to at least one potential buyer.

Should Tata's plants follow Redcar, shut last year, the UK would become the first member of the Group of Seven leading economies to operate no blast furnaces.

It's a far cry from its Victorian metal-bashing heyday when Britain produced about 40 per cent of global supply. But beyond the immediate impact on employment, does …