… we introduce civil servants to the term ‘due diligence’ – something we find quite handy in the commercial world.
In an extremely critical report, the Public Accounts Committee attacked the Government’s failure to get a guarantee from EDF that it would build nuclear stations without subsidy when selling its 36pc stake in January 2009 for £4.4bn.
The cross-party group of MPs, which holds government spending to account, criticised the “systemic weakness” at the heart of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and its approach to risk that could cause “serious liabilities to fall to the public purse”.
Ah yes – the DECC, as run by Ed Bonzodogdoodahband. The useless twat.
“Given that there is a clear risk that EDF will not build them, with or without such subsidy, the Department needs to say sooner rather than later how the country’s increasing energy demands would be met under those circumstances,” said Edward Leigh MP, chairman of the committee.
“It is of concern, to say the least, that the Department does not know how much nuclear generating capacity will be needed to meet our future energy needs.”
The committee was “not convinced” by the Government’s reliance on the market to deliver investment in nuclear power and renewable energy, he added.
“When selling strategically important assets, like its stake in British Energy, the Department should carry out systematic and timely assessments of risk,” Mr Leigh said.
Quite.
Still, I expect they’ll all have a bloody good laugh when it turns, out in 3 years time, that the Tories can’t afford to get any of the required nuclear generating capacity built, because (French state owned) EDF have shafted us.
Buy diesel generators.
AJ
Al Jahom's Final Word 
We’re fucked anyway you paint it. Nukes take ten years to build (about six if you’re japanese, because they’re nothing if not efficient), and we’re out of time in about three.
So gas burners it is, which means bending over and taking ~Vladimir’s tender ministrations.
Ouchski.