The chief executive of EDF Energy will leave Britain if the French company’s £14 billion Hinkley Point reactor project collapses.
Vincent de Rivaz, the longest-serving boss of Britain’s Big Six energy companies, has staked his credibility on getting the plan to build Britain’s first new reactors for decades off the ground.
However, the chances of the project going ahead are receding, with EDF Energy and the Government in a stand-off over the level of subsidies — funded by levies on consumers’ bills — that the company will receive.
One source said that the Government had made several minor concessions in recent days, but the two sides remained far apart.
According to well-placed industry sources, Mr de Rivaz would seek a new role within the parent