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British Steel should be the “canary in the coalmine” that forces ministers to remove Chinese companies from critical infrastructure, they have been told.

The government was forced to take direct control of the company amid concern that its Beijing-based owners would not keep the plant running at Scunthorpe. Ministers feared the company planned to “sabotage” the site to increase British reliance on cheap Chinese imports, The Times understands.

There is alarm over Chinese involvement in other areas of critical infrastructure, such as nuclear power plants.

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UK Government insiders believe that steps taken by Jingye, the Chinese owner of British Steel, were intended to stop Britain producing its own virgin steel and force it to rely on imports from China. The steps included refusing to order new raw materials, selling the materials it had and rejecting offers from ministers to help stem losses at the Scunthorpe plant.

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Sir Christopher Chope, a Tory MP, told Times Radio that shutting down British Steel was “exactly what [Jingye] wanted to do”. He said: “They’re building a new steel production facility in China, and what they wanted to do was to use that production facility to supply the UK market. And indeed, this was an attempt at what I think is best described as industrial sabotage.”

Chinese companies have gained a foothold in telecoms, security equipment, and nuclear and green energy projects. Analysis published in January found Chinese businesses had funded or provided parts for at least 14 of 50 British offshore wind projects. Companies owned by the Chinese government had large stakes in three projects that produce enough energy between them to power up to two million homes. Chinese Generation Nuclear Power remains a lead ­developer in plans for the Bradwell B nuclear plant in Essex.

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