Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will place copies of correspondence (a) to Ministers in his Department from Alexander Temerko of 8 February 2021 and 22 March 2021 in respect of the Aquind Interconnector project, (b) from Ministers in his Department replying to Alexander Temerko and (c) from Ministers forwarding the original letters to other Ministers and officials in the Library.

This correspondence has already been released in response to a previous Freedom of Information request [reference 11805], and I will place copies of that disclosure in the Libraries of the House, alongside a copy of the response from my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State, dated 19 April 2021.

In line with departmental Propriety Guidance, the then Energy Minister (my Hon. Friend, the Member for the Berwick-upon-Tweed) recused herself from the decision for the proposed Aquind interconnector from 8 January.

As a result of this action, she was removed from the process - this means that no discussions were had, nor correspondence entered into by the Minister in respect of the Aquind Interconnector project. This correspondence was not shown to the Minister as a consequence.