New blow to British smart meter rollout as number of faulty machines leaps to 4m

Fears of overcharging on bill grows after jump from 2.7m machines is blamed on reporting errors from energy providers

Nearly 4m energy smart meters in homes and businesses are faulty, government figures have shown, in a further blow to the troubled" rollout of the technology.

Data from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero reported that, at the end of last year, 3.98m meters in Great Britain were not working properly.