GOVERNMENT energy policy in recent years has been a shambles and we are forced to pick up the bill.

Part of the problem stems from three days after becoming Prime Minister when David Cameron declared his intention to lead the “greenest government in history”.

That didn’t stop him from getting rid of the Sustainable Development Commission – the one body that could have held his bold pledge up to scrutiny.

He went on to cancel onshore wind farm developments, slash green subsidies, cool interest in solar power, and renege on pledges to support carbon schemes that could have made coal a viable option.

In the meantime fears mounted about Britain’s energy security and its increasing dependence on foreign fuel supplies.

The upshot of Mr Cameron blowing hot and cold on renewable energy was that investors lost confidence, leaving the way clear for the Tories to press ahead with a commitment made by Tony Blair’s government in nuclear power.

Environmental concerns aside, the eyewatering cost of building new nuclear plants makes them a very risky option.

France’s EDF is building the UK’s first new nuclear plant in decades, at Hinkley Point, Somerset. The upfront cost will be a whopping £18bn. In return, EDF will receive a guaranteed price for electricity for 35 years. A complex subsidy arrangement will see British consumers pay billions to underpin the deal.

EDF is a French state-owned business.

It is ironic that a Government which baulks at the idea of using state control to run our own vital infrastructure, such as the railways or steelmaking, is now forcing British households to boost the profits of a nationalised firm overseas.

A failure to support alternative options has left us at EDF’s mercy.