Kwasi Kwarteng rejects Tory donor’s plan for £1.2bn subsea cable

theguardian.com:

The UK government has rejected plans from a leading Tory donor to build a controversial £1.2bn electricity and internet cable running from the UK to France.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, has refused to grant consent to Aquind Energy for the project, which has provoked fierce opposition over national security and environmental concerns from MPs and campaigners in the UK and France.

Aquind applied more than two years ago for permission to run the giant subsea cable from near Dieppe to Portsmouth. It would have carried one of Europe’s biggest internet data links and enough electricity to meet almost 5% of the UK’s annual demand.

After multiple delays, Kwarteng refused the application on Thursday, in what campaigners have described as a “victory” for Portsmouth residents. The business secretary said he was unable to conclude that the benefits of the proposed development would outweigh its adverse impacts on the local area.

Penny Mordaunt, the Conservative MP for Portsmouth North and a former defence secretary, had led calls against the project, saying it was not helpful to the UK’s energy security. She had raised concerns France could cut the supply in any future dispute.

Welcoming Kwarteng’s decision, she said: “If you stand up for what you believe in and you fight for it you can actually change things”.

The cross-Channel cable also faced steady criticism from Portsmouth city council, which raised almost £250,000 to oppose the venture, saying the project could severely disrupt local traffic and threaten parts of the South Downs national park.

Concerns were raised in parliament as well as in the Guardian’s