Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said that pressure on global energy supplies will not result in energy rationing within the UK, while cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has suggested that the prime minister did not mislead Parliament over the Partygate scandal.
Shapps' comments came as some European nations have moved toward rationing amid rising energy prices and diminished supply, and Labour shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds suggested that the UK government should consider preparing for such an eventuality.
But Shapps later told the BBC that “It [rationing] is not the route that we want to go down.”
Having ruled out the prospect of rationing, Shapps revealed that the country’s new energy strategy - the release of which had been pushed back from last week over cost concerns - is to be announced later this week.
The new strategy comes as the government seeks to bolster energy security and phase out all imports of Russian oil and gas - which carer for eight per cent and five per cent of the country’s overall demand, respectively - by the end of 2022, following the war in Ukraine and its impact on fuel prices.
It is widely expected that scaling up output from nuclear and wind power will form a major part of the plans, as ministers also bid to hasten progress toward Net Zero carbon emissions.
Shapps referred to wind farms in the UK as an “immense invisible national resource” that could be exploited more, while hinting that building offshore turbines could be the government’s priority in the strategy.
Explaining that offshore wind farms “perform better” because of “windier” conditions out at sea and can be built “much, much bigger”, Shapps said that it made little sense to “cover every inch of land in onshore wind farms”.
Shapps has also recently talked down the idea of a “vast increase in onshore wind”, calling the farms an “eyesore for communities” in the UK.
At the time that the release of the energy strategy was delayed last week, the BBC reported that there was a split within the cabinet over relaxing planning laws in England to make it easier to approve onshore wind farms.
While Shapps is one of those that has spoken in opposition of onshore wind, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is a known backer of easing planning restrictions but warned that “community consent” had to be necessary for onshore wind and fracking activities.
Kwarteng has also indicated that the cabinet has agreed for a new body to be established which will oversee the delivery of new nuclear power plants. Prime minister, Boris Johnson, has recently said that he hopes for nuclear energy to generate 25 per cent of the UK’s power by 2050, despite the Treasury’s reservations over associated costs.
Elsewhere, minister for Brexit opportunities Jacob Rees-Mogg has defended the prime minister's conduct over the Downing Street Partygate scandal.
During a live session on LBC, Rees-Mogg suggested that the PM was given "incorrect" information about the parties which he then passed on in his updates to the Commons, and that he had not sought to deliberately mislead the House over the nature of the gatherings.
Johnson had said in December 2021 that Covid lockdown rules were "followed completely" within Downing Street "at all times", but the Metropolitan Police has already issued 20 fixed penalty notices for breaches of the rules as part of its investigation into Partygate.
Rees-Mogg said: "The fact that the prime minister was given wrong information doesn't mean he misled people.
"The prime minister said he was told the rules were followed but that turns out not to be correct. If the prime minister is told information that is incorrect and passes that information on he has made no deliberate attempt to mislead anybody."
Rees-Mogg also also said that he would like to see the public inquiry into Covid exploring whether the lockdown rules imposed were "proportionate", suggesting that some of the emergency laws imposed upon the British people were "inhumane".
Downing Street has confirmed that the PM will deliver a full statement on the Partygate scandal once the Met's investigation has concluded, and senior civil servant Sue Gray has released her unredacted report into the gatherings.
Some of the 20 fines that have thus far been issued have been handed to those who attended a leaving party for James Slack, Number Ten's former director of communications, according to the BBC.
The leaving party was held in April 2021 on the night before Prince Philip's funeral. At the funeral, the Queen was photographed sitting alone in order to comply with restrictions in place at the time. Slack has apologised for the party having taken place.
Fines have also been issued in connection with another party which took place almost a year earlier, with a named culprit being senior civil servant and former deputy cabinet secretary, Helen MacNamara.
MacNamara was adjudged to have broken Covid rules by attending a leaving party in June 2020 which was held in Whitehall for Downing Street aide Hannah Young, who was preparing to take up a new position with the British Consulate General in New York. The fine that MacNamara received is reported to be for the sum of £50.
Photo by Karsten Würth on Unsplash
