Steel crisis: Port Talbot deal 'will need state help', says Sajid Javid

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Sajid Javid said he did not think nationalisation was the solution to the crisis but it "wouldn't be prudent to rule anything out" to clinch a deal.

He said any buyer would want to look at "plant, pensions and power supply" - which ministers were "working on".

Labour said nationalisation should be considered until a buyer is found.

It comes after Tata Steel announced it was selling its loss-making UK business, which employ thousands of workers across plants in Port Talbot, Rotherham, Corbyn and Shotton.

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In an effort to help save the industry, the government has said that public sector bodies will be encouraged to buy British steel for construction projects.

But the Local Government Association told the BBC that councils were already considering local economic and social factors when awarding contracts.

Speaking on BBC One's Andrew Marr show, the business secretary - whose handling of the crisis has been criticised by opposition parties and unions - said the UK steel industry was vital for economic and national security.

"I don't want to live in a country where we have to import all our steel, and we will do everything we can to support the industry," he said.

He said the government's plan to save the plant and find a long-term solution for the steel industry was to find a commercial buyer for all of Tata's UK business.

Tata had accepted that finalising any deal would take time, he said.

"The UK government knows, I've know for a while, that we're going to also have to offer support to eventually clinch that buyer and to give this steel plant a long-term viable future," he said.

Mr Javid said any buyer would want "to look at what I have referred to internally as the 'three p's' - plant, pensions and... power supply".

He added: "These are the kind of things we've already thought, we've already started working on, and what I hope is that you will have the offer document from Tata, overlay on top of that the help the British government can provide, then you have the makings of a successful deal."

Mr Javid said the government "will look at everything we can do to allow a sale going ahead. I wouldn't rule out anything at this stage".

But asked to guarantee that the plant would stay open, he did not, saying: "I will do everything I can to keep this plant open."

Labour is calling for the industry to be temporarily nationalised, with shadow chancellor John McDonnell suggesting the government could maintain a stake in the plant after a buyer was found.

But Mr Javid told the Marr show that nationalisation was "rarely the answer".

Guidelines were introduced last year requiring central government bodies to take into account the "true value" of British steel.

Now the guidance is to be extended across the public sector and public procurements involving the supply of steel will need to consider "responsible sourcing, the training suppliers give to their workforce, carbon footprint, protecting the health and safety of staff and the social integration of disadvantaged workers".

Contractors working for the public sector will also be required to advertise their requirements for steel so that UK firms can compete for the business.

It comes after heavy criticism of ministers for failing to take more effective action to prevent the "dumping" of cheap Chinese steel, seen as one of the key reasons for the problems in the UK steel industry.

The unions said it was "a small step in the right direction" but the measure should have been in place already.

The government has played down the impact of new Chinese import tariffs of up to 46.3%.

Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of the Community trade union, said the announcement was "a small step in the right direction" but said steelworkers "will be shocked to discover that these measures were not already in place".

Tony Burke, assistant general secretary of the Unite union, said the measure needed to compel British steel to be used in all infrastructure projects "otherwise, there will be no recognisable steel industry left in the UK to benefit".

Shadow business secretary Angela Eagle said while the announcement was welcome, ministers had been dragged "kicking and screaming to take action" and needed to do more if they were to ensure the survival of the steel industry in the UK.

Meanwhile, First Minister Carwyn Jones called on the Westminster government to give the industry the same support given to banks during the financial crisis.

Writing in The Independent, Mr Jones said there was "a moral, economic and strategic case" to do the same for steel.

A possible buyer has emerged for the Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales.

Steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, founder of the commodities firm Liberty House, said he had already opened discussions with Tata Steel and was ready to hold talks with the government.

"We would need a proper partnership with the government. I don't know what that would entail at this stage. We've started the discussions... we are in the process of starting a discussion with Tata," he told The Sunday Telegraph.

He added: "I haven't made a proposition that I want to buy all of [Tata Steel UK] because that's too big an undertaking to even put on the table at this stage."

"If the company, its people, its workers and the government would be willing to consider my suggestions then I'm willing to engage in a discussion about what role we will play in that."

Tata's UK business - which directly employs 15,000 workers and supports thousands of others - includes plants in Port Talbot, Rotherham, Corby and Shotton.

Steel production makes up 1% of Britain's manufacturing output and 0.1% of the country's economic output.