A key British industry is being forced to “send pounds to Putin” rather than support the domestic coal market, ministers have been warned.
Conservative MPs pressed the Government to use UK coal to support the country’s steel industry instead of relying on imports from Russia and elsewhere.
Richard Holden, Tory MP for North West Durham, also detailed how the UK imports between five and 10 million tonnes of coal a year – adding this represents more than £1 billion of net imports annually.
He warned this money is not going into UK jobs as part of the transition to new methods of fuelling industry, and highlighted how steelmaking in south Wales is using coal from around the world.