3 days ago
Red heat: Gas supply to No10 and government department by French firm that still imports Russian fossil fuels into Europe
Downing Street and several government departments are heated by gas supplied by a French firm that continues to import Russian fossil fuels into Europe, it was revealed today.
The PM's power base in No10, the imposing Foreign Office building across the street and the Treasury are among Whitehall landmarks supplied by TotalEnergies Gas & Power.
The Ministry of Defence, the Home Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the independent Bank of England are also supplied by the same firm via public sector procurement deals.
The firm is a subsidiary of the French fossil fuel giant, TotalEnergies, which has a 20 per cent stake in the Yamal LNG (liquid natural gas) project in eastern Russia, which is majority owned by private Russian LNG producer Novatek.
According to Politico, which uncovered the contracts using freedom of information requests, TotalEnergies says it is tied into an agreement to supply gas from the project in Siberia that it cannot break.
Imports of Russian oil and gas into the UK have been banned since April 2023 under an embargo brought in after Vladimir Putin 's invasion of Ukraine.
There is no suggestion that TotalEnergies has broken this embargo or that Russian gas has been used to power Whitehall.
But No10 faced accusations of hypocrisy. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer used an energy security summit in London in April to confirm the Government's commitment to clean power, warning the UK had paid the price for Russia 'weaponising energy'.
He added: 'We must continue to crack down on their energy revenues which are still fuelling Putin's war chest.'
And just last week he used the G7 meeting in Canada to reiterate that he 'strongly' believes that restrictions on the price of Russian crude oil should be strengthened to deplete its energy revenues.
Svitlana Romanko, executive director of Ukrainian campaign group Razom We Stand, told Politico: 'It is outrageous that British government buildings are being heated with gas from a company still tied to Russian LNG.
'Every contract with TotalEnergies sends a message that the UK is willing to look the other way as Ukrainians suffer.'
Asked if No10 was being hypocritical, a UK government spokesman said it was continuing to 'bear down' on Russia's ability to fund the war.
'We are making the UK a clean energy superpower to get off the roller coaster of fossil fuel markets controlled by dictators like Putin, replacing that with clean homegrown power we control, and have ended all imports of Russian fossil fuels in response to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine,' he said.
About 19 per cent of Europe's gas still comes from Russia, via the TurkStream pipeline and LNG shipments, down from roughly 45 per cent before 2022.
To replace Russian supplies, the EU has signalled it will expand clean energy and could import more US LNG.
The European Commission last week proposed a legally binding ban on EU imports of Russian gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the end of 2027, using legal measures to ensure the plan cannot be blocked by EU members Hungary and Slovakia.
The proposals set out how the European Union plans to fix into law its vow to end decades-old energy relations with Europe's former top gas supplier, made after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
First, imports would be banned from January 1, 2026, under any Russian pipeline gas and LNG contracts signed during the remainder of this year.
Imports under short-term Russian gas deals - defined as those lasting less than one year - signed before June 17, 2025, would be banned from June 17 next year.
Finally, imports under existing long-term Russian contracts would be banned from January 1, 2028, effectively ending the EU's use of Russian gas by this date, the Commission said.
Hungary and Slovakia, which still import Russian gas via pipeline and have opposed the EU plans, would have until January 1, 2028, to end their imports, including those on short-term contracts.
Total Energies has been approached to comment. It told Politico it condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and operated in line with EU laws, only supplying Russian gas under the existing contract.
