The Shadow Energy Minister in the House of Lords has demanded the Government reveals the true total of mounting legal costs as it continues to appeal against the High Court's Feed-in Tariff ruling.
Baroness Angela Smith has called on the Department of Energy and Climate Change to come clean on the costs of the failed appeal bid in addition to the forecast legal costs of a Supreme Court application.
She says DECC's £66,400 figure was calculated before last week's Court of Appeal decision, which also ordered the Whitehall department to pay the legal costs of Solarcentury, Friends of the Earth and HomeSun.
When challenged today, the Government's Energy Minister in the upper house, Lord Marland, gave Baroness Smith the same calculation of £66,400 and said the Government should be congratulated for keeping the costs so low.
But the Shadow Energy Minister has now put down a written question asking Ministers to reveal the true costs, with a new estimate including the forecasts of the Supreme Court application and the costs of the other parties.
It is thought the combined costs of all three court winners is around £125,000.
“Ministers should come clean now and correct their mistake,” the Baroness told ClickGreen. “My question was quite clear but the same figure was provided again.
“This was the same figure the Department supplied before they lost last week and were ordered by the Court of Appeal to pay the other side's costs and before they confirmed they would be appealing further to the Supreme Court.
“As entertaining as Lord Marland is he can't possibly repeat the same answer – it just does not make any sense.
“I am very cross that we just don't seem to get an accurate answer.”
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