Business secretary opens ‘exceptional’ Steel industry debate

ODN

Opening the second reading of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds says: "We meet under exceptional circumstances, to take exceptional action, in what are exceptional times”. Report by Blairm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

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00:00Mr Speaker, we meet under exceptional circumstances to take exceptional action in what are exceptional times.

00:10Our request to recall Parliament was not one we have made lightly.

00:16And I am grateful, genuinely grateful, to Honourable Members on all sides of this House for their cooperation

00:22and for being here today as we seek to pass emergency legislation that is unequivocally in our national interest.

00:30The fundamental purpose of this Bill is to allow me as Secretary of State and this Government to take control of this situation.

00:39The powers in the Bill broadly replicate the situation if the Civil Contingency Act had been triggered.

00:45But rather than seek to trigger that, to meet that threshold, I'm seeking parliamentary permission to do so,

00:50the consent of this House and the other place, which I think is a better way forward.

00:54I will make clear to him and to the House, I want this to be a temporary position.

00:59I do not want these powers any minute longer than is necessary.

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