Former minister took energy firm donation despite security concerns

Sir Simon Clarke, the former housing secretary, received a donation – Anadolu

A former Cabinet Minister has accepted a donation from a company after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) raised “significant national security concerns” about its proposed infrastructure project.

Sir Simon Clarke, the former housing secretary, accepted £5,000 from Aquind on March 27, just days after the MoD’s misgivings were made public.

Aquind wants to lay a £2 billion cable between Portsmouth and Normandy, which it says could supply five per cent of the UK’s electricity.

Viktor Fedotov, a Russian-born oil executive, is the company’s non-executive director while Ukrainian-born Alexander Temerko, one of the Conservative party’s largest donors, is a director. Both men have British citizenship.

A letter to the planning inspector, published last month, revealed that the MoD said it has “significant national security concerns” about Aquind’s proposed project.

The MoD asked for a six-week extension to finalise its representations to the planning inspectorate, adding that the “sensitive nature” of its concerns meant that a new process needed to be set up.

Officials felt that the MoD’s concerns were not suitable for submission during the ordinary planning process, whereby representations are generally made public.

Details of national security concerns 

They are pressing for a new, secure channel of communication to be established so that the details of their national security concerns can be submitted in confidence.

Ultimately Claire Coutinho, the energy secretary, will decide whether the project should be given permission to go ahead.

Last year Kwasi Kwarteng’s decision when business secretary to refuse permission for the interconnector was overturned in the High Court.

Stephen Morgan, the Labour MP for Portsmouth South, urged ministers to “scrap the Aquind project for good”.

He said: “Since this project started, Alexander Temerko has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Conservative Party and nearly one in 10 Tory MPs have accepted money from Viktor Fedotov’s businesses.

“It is stunning that MPs of the governing party continue to accept money from Aquind and its owners given the serious alarms that have been raised about the project, not least by the Ministry of Defence which expressed ‘serious national security concerns’ just months ago.

“Portsmouth people are long overdue clarity and confirmation on whether this project will go ahead, given the disastrous consequences it will have on our city.”

Russian’s role obscured

Fedotov is a Russian-British businessman who previously headed up a number of Russian oil companies including the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. His role in Aquind had previously been obscured on Companies House under a rare security exemption.

Temerko was born in modern-day Ukraine and moved to Moscow for university. He became a prominent supporter of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin and held senior posts in the Russian Defence Ministry in the 1990s.

He was a senior executive at the Russian oil and gas company Yukos but fled to London after being pursued by Russian prosecutors who accused him of stealing shares in a different oil company, as well as forgery, and perverting the course of justice.

A British judge turned down Russia’s bid to have Temerko extradited on the grounds that it was “politically motivated”. Temerko said at the time that he believed the motivation for the charges was Vladimir Putin’s desire to silence his critics. More recently, he has become an outspoken critic of the president’s invasion of Ukraine.

Since 2012, Temerko has personally donated over £700,000 to dozens of individual Tory MPs, while Aquind Ltd has donated a further £1 million to the Conservative Party.

Other MPs to have previously accepted donations from Aquind – or Offshore Group Newcastle (OGN) Ltd which Aquind was a subsidiary of until 2015 – include Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, Tom Pursglove the immigration minister and Simon Hart the chief whip.

More than 30 MPs took donations

Former ministers are among over 30 Tory MPs to have previously accepted donations from Aquind or Temerko, including Brandon Lewis, Alok Sharma, Dr Liam Fox and John Whittingdale.

Ben Iorio, an Aquind spokesman, said the company is “ready and willing” to address the MoD’s concerns “in good faith”. He added that it is “disappointing that they have failed to even outline the nature of the alleged concerns”.

“We remain fully committed to transforming the UK’s energy security and affordability through building Britain’s newest electrical link to Europe,” he said.

“The manner of the MoD’s last-minute interference will have negative impacts on all proposed developments and marine users in and around Portsmouth, including renewable energy, interconnectors, fisheries, import and export at the harbour, and many others.

“The uncertainty caused by their opaque response and unwillingness to engage to resolve any concerns sends a chilling effect to other developers and investors seeking to build and finance major projects in the UK.

“Furthermore, Aquind is a British company, and all of Aquind’s directors and shareholders are British citizens. Any donations made are in strict accordance with all regulations and with total transparency. Supporting and donating to political parties is the right of all British citizens and companies, and a fundamental part of the democratic process.”

A Government spokesman said: “Our priority will always be maintaining our national security and any new infrastructure will not jeopardise this. It would be inappropriate to comment on a redetermination process whilst it is still ongoing.”

Sir Simon Clarke was approached for comment.

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