Theresa May delayed Hinkley Point nuclear power plant ‘because she dislikes the Chinese’, claims Sir Vince Cable
The PM has 'general prejudice' against Chinese funding, says ex Lib Dem business secretary
THERESA May delayed the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant because she dislikes the Chinese, an ex-minister claimed today.
Former business secretary Sir Vince Cable said the new PM had clashed with Cabinet colleagues before over the £18 billion project.
He accused her of being “clumsy” in the way she slammed the brakes on the project two weeks after winning power – but admits it came as no surprise.
In an extraordinary outburst, the Lib Dem put her objections down to “general prejudice” against Chinese investment.
Sir Vince recalled how Mrs May raised concerns in Cabinet over China funding the proposed power station in Somerset.
He said she was furious at the “gung-ho” attitude of her predecessor David Cameron and ex-Chancellor George Osborne towards signing the deal.
Mrs May insists she wants to examine personally all the component parts of the project with French energy giant EDF before going any further.
But government insiders say she is concerned over the security implications of giving China’s state-owned companies a one-third stake in the reactor.
Sir Vince went a step further yesterday and claimed the PM harboured a “general prejudice against Chinese investment”.
He told the BBC: “Certainly when we were in government, Theresa May was 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, raised objections to Hinkley at that time.
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“I, personally, am quite positive about Chinese investment in the UK and in this particular case the Chinese are not involved in the operations side of nuclear power – it’s the funding.
“But I think we have got a different Prime Minister with a different set of priorities and projects of this kind are going to be looked at through a different filter.”
Sir Vince said the last-minute timing of the PM’s decision to delay final approval for the plant was “a bit clumsy”.
But he admitted she was right to review the massive project and take a more cautious view to foreign takeovers.
Sir Vince’s intervention comes amid warnings from Mrs May’s new chief of staff that China’s role in the nuke plant could threaten our national security.
In an article before he began working at Number 10, Nick Timothy said it could “build weaknesses into computer systems which will allow them to shut down Britain’s energy production at will”.
He added that MI5 held concerns over China before its intelligence services were working against British interests at home and abroad.
Former Tory minister John Redwood backed the PM’s decision to slam the brakes on the project.
He writes in The Sun on Sunday: “The Government is right to review whether to build a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point.
“There may be a better answer with cheaper power.”
Downing Street would not be drawn on Sir Vince’s claims.
New Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said: “The UK needs a reliable and secure energy supply and the Government believes that nuclear energy is an important part of the mix.
“The Government will now consider carefully all the component parts of this project and make its decision in the early autumn.”
Government auditor Sir Amyas Morse, has spoken out over concerns that the new government can deliver the nuclear.
He rarely makes public comments and his decision to speak out reflects the concern of the NAO that Whitehall is ill-prepared for the profound implications of Brexit.
He said: “We need to ask ourselves, ‘Can the public sector deliver Hinkley Point C, a third runway, HS2, a Northern Powerhouse, nuclear decommissioning, Trident renewal and restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster all at the same time?”