National Grid boss says Labour plan will stall green energy drive

John Pettigrew claims switch to public ownership will disrupt transition to cleaner forms of energy

Labour's plan to take the National Grid back into public ownership would harm the UK's switch to green energy, the grid's chief executive has said. John Pettigrew said renationalisation was "the last thing the industry needs" as it invests to accommodate more wind and solar power on the UK's power grids.

"Clearly, on nationalisation, we do not think it is a good idea," Pettigrew said, as the company reported operating profits up 14% to 4.7bn for 2016-17. Its market capitalisation is about 38bn, including its US business.