First minister John Swinney has been accused of politicising Grangemouth after calling the decision to national British Steel and not the Scottish oil refinery anti-Scottish. But, The Times points out, the Scottish government had not pushed for nationalisation of Grangemouth until this weekend, and Swinney conceded his government could not afford to take over the plant, reported to be losing £380,000 per day. Swinney has now insisted that if British Steel could be nationalised, Grangemouth should have been as well. He added: “It’s unfortunate that presumably for political reasons that position has suddenly changed after redundancies have been confirmed. I’d urge others to decide what they want their own role to be: political game-playing or the serious work to deliver a practical, deliverable future for Grangemouth.”

Source: The Times April 15, 2025 15:31 UTC