A Conservative MP who had received £10,000 from the former boss of a Russian arms company lobbied the EU in support of an energy project co-run by the donor. Andrew Percy wrote to the EU’s power network agency asking it to back a request by Aquind, an energy company, for what amounted to special regulatory treatment. Nine months earlier he had received a donation of £10,000 to his constituency party from Alexander Temerko, who co-runs Aquind. In 2014 Mr Percy received £10,000 from another company linked to Mr Temerko. Since writing the letter in 2018 he has received a further £20,000 from Aquind through his local party. His constituency association also received an additional £6,000 from Aquind last year. The firm plans to lay an “interconnector” beneath the Channel to connect the UK and French power grids. Its backers say the £1.2 billion project could supply up to 5 per cent of Britain’s electricity.
Times 24th Aug 2020 read more »