I’m no push over... why PM blocked Hinkley deal

THERESA MAY blocked the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant to prove she will not be a pushover as she tours the world seeking post-Brexit trade deals, it emerged last night.

Well-placed sources insisted the Prime Minister’s decision to delay the £24billion deal did not mean she was about to pull the plug on it.

They said she was determined to get good value now that the UK was moving to a position where it would be free to negotiate its trade deals outside the EU.

‘Theresa wants to win as much new international business as possible, but they have to be value for money for the UK,’ said a Government insider.

‘Checking the fine print of the Hinkley deal sends a clear signal. We will do business on terms that suit us. We are not holding out a begging bowl.’

In a separate development, it was revealed Mrs May privately attacked ‘gung-ho’ George Osborne at Cabinet meetings over China’s role in the Hinkley project during the Tory-Lib Dem Coalition Government.

Former Lib Dem Business Secretary Sir Vince Cable said: ‘Certainly, when we were in government, Theresa May was quite clear she was unhappy about the rather gung-ho approach to Chinese investment that George Osborne in particular was promoting and [she] raised objections to Hinkley at that time.’

The Mail on Sunday understands that Mrs May also registered a written protest at the Chinese aspect of the Hinkley deal during the Coalition Government.

A former Minister said: ‘She wanted much more rigorous checks on all foreign investment, especially countries like China. She made her concerns known and was very keen to see extra safeguards imposed on foreign investors.’