Energy minister 'fired for secretly plotting to persuade energy companies to challenge Government policy'



John Hayes tried to make E.on warn of blackouts if policy didn't change

Wanted to water down green crusade and stop closure of coal generators

Hayes boss Ed Davey was furious and demanded he be sacked

Two weeks later Mr Hayes was dismissed and given a smaller backroom role

Tory MP John Hayes was fired as Energy Minister for secretly plotting to persuade E.on to warn of blackouts

Tory MP John Hayes was fired as Energy Minister for secretly plotting to persuade an electricity boss to challenge Government policy.

Climate change sceptic Mr Hayes had asked the head of power giants E.on to warn of blackouts unless the Coalition watered down its green crusade and made a U-turn on the closure of coal-fired generators.

But Mr Hayes’s boss, Energy Secretary Ed Davey, hit the roof when he found out about the ‘treachery’ – and demanded he was sacked.



Two weeks later, Mr Hayes was dismissed and given a minor backroom role in No 10, advising David Cameron on links with Tory MPs.

But his dire warnings about energy shortages were later vindicated by regulator Ofgem, which warned of an even bigger risk of power cuts.

The feud was kept secret by Downing Street to avoid exposing Coalition tensions over climate change and Europe. An EU directive to encourage ‘cleaner’ energy is behind the closure of coal-fired stations.

At the time of Mr Hayes’s sacking, both Mr Cameron and Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg denied he had been forced out, or that there was a row with Mr Davey.

But The Mail on Sunday has established that he was demoted after he secretly met E.on chief executive Tony Cocker on March 13 and urged him to help postpone the closure of power stations such as Kingsnorth in Kent.

Mr Hayes's boss, Energy Secretary Ed Davey, hit the roof when he found out about the 'treachery' ¿ and demanded he was sacked

The meeting came after Mr Davey had rejected pleas by Mr Hayes to use the UK’s right to opt out of EU measures.

Mr Hayes was accompanied to the meeting by a senior civil servant, though it is not known how it was leaked to Mr Davey. Sources close to Mr Hayes say he was encouraged privately by Mr Cameron to press to delay the closure of coal-fired power stations to avoid an energy crisis.

‘John said the PM agreed that the energy crisis was getting worse,’ said a source close to Mr Hayes. ‘And Lib Dems are more interested in impractical green policies and not upsetting their friends in Brussels than keeping the lights on.’