May ‘had doubts about Hinkley plans for years’

PRIME MINISTER Theresa May raised objections to the Hinkley Point nuclear power deal as far back as the coalition government, Lib Dem ex- business secretary Sir Vince Cable claimed.

Sir Vince said the then-Home Secretary was unhappy about the“gun g-ho” attitude to Chinese investment displayed by former Chancellor George Osborne.

The ex- cabinet member was speaking after Mrs May unexpectedly delayed signing off on the project at the last minute.

He said: “Certainly, when we were in government, Theresa May was, I think, quite clear she was unhappy about the rather gung- ho approach to Chinese investment that we had, and that George Osborne in particular was promoting and, as I recall, she raised objections to Hinkley at that time.”

Sir Vince, who said the delay had been handled in a “clumsy” way, suggested Mrs May’s more critical approach was right “once you separate that out from a kind of general prejudice against Chinese investment”.

Critics believe the Government has been stung by criticism of the amount of money French energy giant EDF will be paid for generating power from Hinkley – £ 92.50 per megawatt hour of electricity generated.

It is thought there are also security concerns about the role of the Chinese state – which has a one third share in the project – investing in critical infrastructure in the UK.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “The headline figures are very disturbing on the price, the price of the electricity that is going to be generated, the risk to the British taxpayer, and, of course, the fact that we are handing over large areas of our energy generation to the French and Chinese to control.”

The claims came as the boss of EDF said he understood the Government wanted more time to consider plans for a new nuclear power station.

Vincent de Rivaz has written to workers in a bid to reassure them that the £18 billion Hinkley Point project is still “strong” despite the unexpected delay.

The company’ s board narrowly voted to give the final go- ahead for the long- delayed project but the Government pulled back from signing the contract saying it would make a decision in the early autumn.

Unions have warned jobs are at risk while Jason Millett, chief operating officer for major programmes and infrastructure at Mace, a major contractor at Hinkley Point, said the decision to delay had left people “bewildered”.

Downing Street would not be drawn on Sir Vince’s claims.