Hinkley cash delay

THE future of Hinkley Point was in turmoil yesterday after EDF delayed its decision on funding again – just weeks before it was due.

The energy company is £11bn short of the £18bn needed to build a nuclear power station in Somerset. Chief executive Jean Bernard Levy was due make a funding decision by May 12, but he told a board meeting yesterday it would be delayed.

It came as lawyers warned funding from the French Government, which has an 85pc stake in EDF, would be illegal, as it would amount to state aid.