The announcement that British Steel was entering insolvency came as a hammer blow to Scunthorpe, where it employs 5,000 people. It has become a familiar story in recent years, and Helen Pidd returns to Redcar, which lost the majority of its steelworks in 2015. Also today: Rory Carroll on the case of Ian Bailey, on trial in France for murder in his absence

Three years after British Steel appeared to have been saved by a private equity group, it collapsed into insolvency last week. Greybull Capital blamed Brexit, among other factors, for its order book drying up. If British Steel goes under, it would put at direct risk the jobs of 5,000 people – with many thousands more working in the supply chain. The news from Scunthorpe mirrors that of another steel town, Redcar, hit in 2015 by the demise of its steelworks.

Helen Pidd, the Guardian’s north of England editor, travelled to Redcar this week to investigate the lasting effects of what happens to a place when its steel industry collapses. She hears from Brian Dennis, who worked at Redcar’s steelworks for 26 years.



Also today: Ireland correspondent Rory Carroll on the trial in absentia of Ian Bailey. The English former journalist, who was featured in the true crime podcast West Cork, is still trying to clear his name, 23 years after being accused of the killing of the French film-maker Sophie Toscan du Plantier. His case is being heard in Paris this week.