Former Lib Dem energy secretary Ed Davey has been blocked from accessing a report he commissioned
A former Lib Dem minister has been barred from accessing a renewable energy report that he commissioned while in office.
Ed Davey served as energy secretary for three years to May 2015, when he was ousted by Conservative James Berry as the MP for Kingston and Surbiton.
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While in office, the Lib Dem MP commissioned Frontier Economics on the cost of different electricity sources, but it was only submitted to the government in early 2016, long after Davey had exited.
And after Davey resorted to a freedom of information request to access the consultancy's findings, civil servants blocked the publication.
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Lib Dem sources suggest that Davey was expecting the report to back further use of renewable energy sources but that it was rejected by the government because it still expects to release the work “in due course”.
Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Davey said: “The excuse for this delay is clearly self-serving nonsense.
He added: “It's an independent report that can stand alone without any spin.”
A spokeswoman for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy had not responded to request for comment at the time of publication.