Renationalise the grid and watch energy prices rise, warns boss

National Grid chief says Labour policy will also stall move to cleaner energy as firm unveils 1.8bn profit

The chief executive of National Grid has warned that Labour's renationalisation proposals would hold back the UK's move to cleaner energy and mean higher prices for customers, as the company reported an 1.8bn annual profit.

National Grid, which runs the UK's national electricity network, said its profit for the 12 months to 31 March was down by nearly a third from 2.7bn the year before. It wrote off 137m of costs spent to connect two nuclear UK projects in Cumbria and Wales that were cancelled, and also took a financial hit from a seven-month labour dispute at its US business.