French villagers bid to stop Tory donor Aquind laying cable under Channel

Energy firm and director Alexander Temerko have given 1.1m between them to Conservatives

French mayors and residents along the Normandy coast are campaigning to block a project for a cross-Channel electricity cable backed by a Ukrainian-born businessman who has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Conservative party.

Kwasi Kwarteng, Britain's business secretary, is due to decide this week on whether to give the go-ahead to a 1.2bn project for the 148-mile cable between Normandy and Hampshire. The firm says the link, which will run through Portsmouth, could supply up to 5% of Britain's electricity needs.