Speeches by Lowe.

“That is the answer I wanted.”

“But meanwhile—”

“I understand all that, and I totally buy into the strategic importance, but the oxymoron I cannot get my mind around is that, on the one hand, we are bailing out an industry, and, on the other hand, we are killing—”

“The taxpayer is funding it. It is not a viable industry at the moment.”

“Have you discussed the Government’s energy policy with them? Have you told them that this is the root cause of your problem?”

“I am asking you the question about—”

“I accept that, but that is not the question I asked.”

“I get that.”

“I was going to ask this question of the next panel, but I think it is rather more appropriate to ask it of you. Obviously, we are all concerned about employment and people’s families, communities and everything else, but I cannot see how this intervention in steelmaking in the UK can work until we get a proper business…”

“You cannot do that with high energy prices.”

“I understand that, but on the one hand we are watching Aberdeen die a death because we are not using the natural hydrocarbons—gas and oil—that we have off the Shetlands and across the country, and on the other hand we are intervening to rescue an industry that relies on cheap energy. We have the most expensive energy i…”

“Finally—”

“They have cheap energy.”

“They are burning more coal as well.”

“And you think that process is managed fine?”

“That is a very good point, on which I think the Committee would agree with you. On Monday, we heard from Sizewell C, which is spending vast amounts of money on ageing technology coming from France rather than using modular technology developed by Rolls-Royce, so you are right that there is not a lot of joined-up thinki…”

“So this was basically risk capital that the taxpayer took a punt on and lost; is that what you are saying?”

“Can we avoid an intellectual debate on whether it is right for pension funds to be taking vast amounts of early-stage risk?”

“I accept that, but I ask again: ultimately, somebody made the decision to put that extra money into the Airborne Laboratory; are you telling me that, at the time they made that decision, they did not have the available facts that they subsequently had?”

“I am more interested in capitalising on the money that you are spending.”