Campaigners dismiss Christmas electricity blackout report as 'laughable'

Report warning of energy shortage widely discredited after just one MP backs it and it includes misleading claims

A report that warned of Christmas blackouts next year and purported to come from a group of MPs has been discredited after it emerged it was only backed by a single MP and included misleading claims.

The British Infrastructure Group (BIG), chaired by Conservative MP Grant Shapps, published a report on Monday that said coal power station closures and a drive for renewable energy had left the UK facing "intermittent blackouts for the foreseeable future".