Tetchy tweets suggest frayed tempers in UK energy department

Series of tweets from minister Andrea Leadsom accuse critics of lies, distortion and nonsense

Are those running the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) having a meltdown? The tweets sent by energy minister Andrea Leadsom certainly suggest tempers are running high: she accuses critics of lies, distortion and nonsense.

The ministerial seats at Decc must be getting hotter by the day. More than 1,000 jobs have gone in the solar power industry, with bosses blaming the government's intention to slash solar subsidies by almost 90%. The statement by Leadsom's predecessor, Greg Barker, that the evidence for cuts is "pretty poor" and will "kill the industry" can only have added to the heat. But should the response of a minister of state to such criticism be to let the red mist descend?