Sir Simon Clarke, Conservative MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, accepted a £5,000 donation from Aquind Ltd, only two days after the MoD’s concerns about the company’s plans for a proposed electricity link between England and France had been made public. It’s the second donation for that amount that Sir Simon has accepted from the company so far this year.
In March the MoD wrote to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, with whom the planning decision now rests, to ask to establish a secure channel through which to raise its security concerns about Aquind with the department. Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Sir Simon’s seat, Luke Myer, wrote to the incumbent MP yesterday outlining his concerns about the donation.