Make Drax wait for its next subsidy deal. An FCA investigation is serious | Nils Pratley
There is already a scandal of bad accounting at Drax, one could say mischievously,It’s the one that maintains that transporting wood pellets from North America to burn in North Yorkshire is a “carbon neutral” activity because replacement trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow,You don’t have to be a green lobbyist to think there’s something wrong there,As the research group Ember regularly reminds us, Drax is the UK’s biggest emitter yet qualifies for renewables subsidies,That weirdness in the methodology is one for the government to justify.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s investigation is into the grittier issue of Drax’s “historical statements” about its sourcing of wood pellets.Three sets of annual accounts – 2021, 2022 and 2023 – are in the spotlight for adherence to listing rules for quoted companies and transparency disclosures.The FCA’s poke around the thicket is very welcome because the last episode in this saga ended in unsatisfactory fashion for outsiders when the company reached a settlement with Rowaa Ahmar, its former head of public affairs and policy, who had accused the company of misleading the government, the public and the regulator over its sourcing of wood for pellets.The allegation was part of her claim for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal.The regulator in question was Ofgem, in charge of energy, whose investigation had reached a closely worded outcome.
On the one hand, it did not find evidence to suggest deliberate misreporting or that Drax had unfairly claimed subsidies under a scheme that requires 70% of the biomass to be “sustainable”,On the other hand, Ofgem concluded that Drax “failed in complying with its profiling data obligations” from April 2021 to March 2022,The result was that the company paid a £25m voluntary penalty, or loose change in the context of £7bn of subsidies to date,The FCA’s investigation, at least, offers the possibility of a fuller and more detailed version of events,In regulatory terms, accurate reporting to investors and the market is a very big deal.
Officials will be obliged to go deep.One can understand why Drax’s shares fell 7%.The fact of an investigation also raises a question for the government, which in February agreed heads of terms with Drax to keep the subsidies rolling from 2027 to 2031.Michael Shanks, an energy minister, grumbled about the “unacceptably large profits” Drax has made over the years but said, in effect, that the government was over a barrel and had to back a smaller deal in order to keep the lights on.Drax generates about 5% of the country’s electricity and, unlike solar and wind, its power is firm.
The point, though, is that the February deal has not yet been signed.Will ministers now wait until the FCA has concluded? “We will review the investigation’s findings when they become available,” said the energy security department, which doesn’t precisely answer the question.It ought to be straightforward: make ’em wait.The next deal involves £1.8bn of public money.
When the sums are that large, surely you’d want to hear first what the financial regulator has to say on a basic question of governance.
USA 31-31 Australia: 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup – as it happened
I’m not exaggerating when I say that was one of the best games of rugby I’ve ever watched.There’s a tendency to over hype the women’s game. To compensate for the unjust inequities, the blatant sexism and the years of neglect. There’s also an understandable need to focus less on results and the quality of rugby and shine a light on the stories of the individuals involved, to champion those heroes who have sacrificed so much to represent their nations.No need on this one
Australia and USA draw thriller to bring belated jeopardy to Rugby World Cup
Here was the captivating arm-wrestle we had been waiting for. Second place in Pool A behind England was probably on the line, and both teams gave everything in an utterly compelling match with a barely believable script.Neither deserved to lose, and if England comfortably defeat the Wallaroos next week, it should come down to points difference between these two sides for a place in the last eight. After Eva Karpani’s concluding try for Australia, Samantha Wood’s simple conversion chance could have won it five minutes from time, but she pulled it, in doing so arguably guaranteeing the right result.The precocious wing Desiree Miller and the 18-year-old full-back Caitlyn Halse both scored twice for the Wallaroos, while Freda Tafuna was credited with a hat-trick, although the No 6 said the third was scored by Hope Rogers
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You can keep the 92 points England scored. Let’s talk about Samoa’s three. It’s been 11 years since Samoa recorded a point in a World Cup match. They didn’t qualify for the tournaments in 2017 or 2021, and they were whitewashed 73-0 by Australia in the first round of this one on the opening weekend. So Franklin’s Gardens fell awfully quiet when the team won a scrum penalty just inside England’s half in the 42nd minute, 32m out, and straight in front of the posts
John Mitchell demands England improve despite record World Cup win over Samoa
England’s victory over Samoa was a record Rugby World Cup win for the Red Roses but the head coach, John Mitchell, said “their basics let them down” during a period in the second half where they took their foot off the gas. The Red Roses raced to a 47-0 half-time lead but fumbled lineouts and had knock-ons which thwarted their momentum during the second half. Mitchell praised his team but said it was a task to keep up the pressure.Sign up to The BreakdownThe latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewedafter newsletter promotionMitchell said: “Firstly, I thought the start was an energetic, very clinical start. I think as the game wore on and the scoreboard was building, it was always going to be this group’s challenge to stay in the process and build pressure
‘It’s only going to get bigger’: Australia embraces the Japanese game that turns rubbish into sport
Caitlin Cassidy competes in Australia’s World Cup spogomi qualifier, a fun event that’s really about raising environmental awareness, in ManlyIt’s Saturday morning at Manly beach and you could cut the tension with a knife.Nearly 100 people are crouched over piles of litter, frantically sorting them into coloured tote bags. A man wearing an umpire bib looms over a group beside us and blows his whistle.“Two minutes!” he calls. “Two minutes!” The team is trying to figure out if a discarded tennis racket counts as “non-burnable waste” or “bulky waste”
England 92-3 Samoa: Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 – as it happened
Sarah Rendell’s match report from Northampton has just landed.With that I’ll say cheerio as I switch my attention to the Wallaroos versus Eagles clash.That was a rout from the English though Samoa showed plenty of pluck. “A David v Goliath match” as Sarah calls it. This time, David had no chance
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