Boris Johnson speech – live: PM ‘to announce nuclear power expansion’ amid energy crisis

Former Brexit negotiator David Frost has revealed he is in talks with Conservative associations about standing to be a Tory MP.

The peer, who is tipped for a powerful position if Liz Truss makes it to Downing Street, has made clear he is interested in joining any administration led by her, but indicated he did not think it right for a top cabinet role to be held by an unelected figure. Andrew Woodcock reports:

The £120m arts festival known as the “Festival of Brexit” has had just 238,000 visitors, falling far short of organisers’ most ambitious target, writes Adam Forrest:

Mr Johnson compared the benefits of nuclear investment in reducing energy bills to buying a new kettle – meaning a high upfront investment that would reduce costs over time.

He said: “If you have an old kettle that takes ages to boil, it may cost you £20 to replace it. But if you get a new one you will save £10 a year every year on your electricity bill.”

Greenpeace UK has condemned the cost of investing in Sizewell C.

Chief scientist Doug Parr said the £700 million could insulate huge numbers of draughty homes and cut next year’s bills, “instead of being thrown on to the slow-burning financial bonfire that is EDF, to increase our bills for decades”.

He added: “The contrast between these lumbering white elephants and the dynamic, cost-cutting, innovative technologies in the renewables sector could barely be more striking.

“While this down-payment on failure shows the government hasn’t noticed, the market has, and investors have fled the nuclear sector.

“To get Sizewell done, the government would have to step in and add the enormous costs of building reactors to the enormous costs consumers are already paying for their electricity.”

The “Boris bill” would be the Prime Minister’s legacy, he added.

Tory former environment minister Michael Gove, a Rishi Sunak backer, has urged Liz Truss to consider rationing of energy for businesses this winter.

Ms Truss, the strong favourite to be the next PM, ruled out any form of rationing at last night’s final Tory hustings event.

But Mr Gove, who in 2016 himself stood as party leader, said the UK may have to follow some European countries in limiting use.

“If we look at our European neighbours and others, there have been some restrictions on the use of energy in non-domestic settings,” he told Radio 4’s Today – but said he did not think “individuals rationing energy” would be necessary.

“It may be the case that in certain non-domestic settings, that there needs to be some form of restraint in the way energy is used,” he said.

MPs charged taxpayers almost £200,000 for energy bills and other utilities at their second homes over the past year, new analysis by The Independent has found.

Campaigners said the findings showed that Britain’s elected representatives were partly “insulated” from financial pain during the cost of living crisis. Adam Forrest has this exclusive report:

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey says Boris Johnson’s call for more investment in renewable energy would anger “many people who know it is his government that has failed to invest in cheap green energy”.

He added: “The millions facing sky-high energy bills this winter could have had cheaper bills and warmer homes if it wasn’t for Boris Johnson’s failure to invest in renewable energy as Liberal Democrats did in government.”

Mr Johnson appeared to take aim at supporters of fracking, in what will be seen as a veiled put-down of his likely successor Liz Truss.

Highlighting the importance of offshore wind, he said: “Because of the activism of the government we’re now racing towards our target – we will hit it – of 50 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. Fifty gigawatts is a huge amount, that’s roughly half the electricity consumption of this country, from offshore wind.

“I tell everybody who thinks hydrocarbons are the only answer, we should get fracking and all that, offshore wind is now the cheapest form of electricity in this country. Offshore wind is nine times cheaper than gas.”

Liz Truss has repeatedly said she supports fracking in areas where local people support it.

Boris Johnson said of Sizewell C: “This project will create tens of thousands of jobs, it will also power 6 million homes – that is roughly a fifth of all the homes in the UK – so it’ll help to fix the energy needs, not just of this generation but of the next.

Hailing the decision to press ahead with the project, Mr Johnson added: “So no more national myopia, no more short-termism – let’s think about the future, let’s think about our kids and our grandchildren, about the next generation.

“And so I say to you, with the prophetic candour and clarity of one who is about to hand over the torch of office, I say go nuclear and go large and go with Sizewell C.”

Boris Johnson blamed Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as Labour prime ministers for not pushing ahead with nuclear power.

“When Sizewell opened in 1966 it was the eighth reactor that this country had built in just seven years,” he said.

And he compared the UK with France and other countries, asking: “Why have we never got back to that kind of rhythm?”

“For 13 years the previous Labour government did absolutely nothing to develop this country’s nuclear industry. They said it didn’t make economic sense,” he said

“Thanks a bunch Tony. Thanks a bunch Gordon.”