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A former chief strategist to Theresa May has said that senior figures in Whitehall are working to stop the proposed tidal lagoon in Swansea Bay.

Chris Wilkins served as the Prime Minister’s chief speechwriter until the summer.

He has given WalesOnline an interview about his rise from Barry Comprehensive schoolboy to a senior figure in Downing Street.

During the interview, he said he witnessed first-hand the opposition to the £1.3bn project from within the ranks of the civil service.

An independent review gave it the thumbs-up a year ago but the UK Government has yet to respond to its recommendations amid reported concern about the cost of the electricity.

Mr Wilkins said: “There are people across Whitehall who would like that project not to go ahead and who definitely want to find ways to stop it happening.”

He applauded the role of Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns, whom he says is “constantly in No 10’s face, pushing Wales’ case”.

Mr Wilkins added: “Certainly, when I was there, there were efforts by people behind the scenes to sort of get decisions made to stop things like that happening.

"Now, thanks to me and thanks to Alun Cairns and thanks to the Prime Minister they’ve not been successful in that but there’s definitely a sort of agenda in parts of Whitehall that says ‘Simply look at numbers – it doesn’t quite work.’

“That’s where that lack of understanding and empathy sometimes comes in [in] policy-making circles, but that’s where politicians rightly need to intervene and push back.”

Swansea East Labour MP Carolyn Harris said: “I am appalled but I am not shocked.

”Ms Harris claims the UK Government has “done nothing”.

She argues that the project is even more important as Brexit looms, and pointed out that First Minister Carwyn Jones has said the Welsh Government would support a “substantial” investment to support the lagoon“.

Last week the Welsh Government gave them an opportunity to step up to the plate,” she said.

“They have done nothing but come up with excuses after excuses after excuses.

"This is a project that will not just put Swansea on the map, not just put Wales on the map, but it would put the United Kingdom on the map.

"This is something that we desperately need for a feel-good factor in terms of the economy and tourism in Wales.“

"But at a time of uncertainty with Brexit, what better way to show the outside world that we are still open for business than to be innovative and brave and take big decisions at a time when everybody is waiting for us to fall flat on our faces.”

Map: The Swansea tidal lagoon is the first of four planned for the Welsh coast

Swansea West Labour MP Geraint Davies was concerned by the claims of opposition in Whitehall and argued that the cost of energy produced by tidal lagoons was likely to fall as the sector developed.

It is hoped that further lagoons will be constructed at sites including Cardiff, Newport and Colwyn Bay.

He said: “It would be a tragedy for Swansea and for UK opportunities for building a world-class export-driven [energy] industry if a few civil servants at key gateways were solely using the current cost projections for the first pioneer lagoon to block progress because the average price for lagoon energy is likely to be far less, in particular if we look at more imaginative financial structures like the low interest bond funding that underpins Welsh Water.”

Former Gower Conservative MP Byron Davies said that “nobody” wanted the project to go ahead more than him but he said negotiations needed to take their course between the backers of the lagoon and the UK Government “because we’re committing the nation for decades and decades to come on a price of electricity”.

He said: “Government has got to make a decision whether this is viable in the long-term and that is what they are doing at the moment.”

Rob Stewart, the leader of Swansea Council, said: “While this is disappointing, it’s no surprise because there are people who have been perpetuating mistruths about the cost and viability of the lagoon. This has to stop.

“Not only would the project open up thousands of jobs and generate zero carbon electricity for over a century, but it would also see the UK lead the world in sustainable energy production, with the Swansea lagoon acting as pathfinder for other, similar technology across the country. Post-Brexit, this is exactly the kind of innovative scheme everyone in Whitehall should be embracing because of the global export opportunities it would present for the country as a whole.

“Also, given the Welsh Government’s offer to cover some of the costs of the lagoon’s construction, the myth that the lagoon is unaffordable has now been completely dispelled. The numbers absolutely work.

“The whole of Wales is behind the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon, with a year having now passed since Charles Hendry’s independent review backed the project. I would hope that the Prime Minister and others will ignore all the misinformation and approve this vital project as soon as possible.”

Tidal Lagoon Power declined to comment.