We can confirm that we expect to defer an investment decision on the Kingsnorth proposals for up to two to three years.

This is based on the global recession, which has pushed back the need for new plant in the UK to around 2016 because of the reduction in demand for electricity.

As a Group, we remain committed to the development of cleaner coal and carbon capture and storage (CCS), which we believe have a key role to play alongside renewables, gas and nuclear, in tackling the global threat of climate change while ensuring affordability and security of energy supplies.