Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, suggested that he support a plan like the one announced by German ministers last week, which could mean that households and hospitals have priority over heavy industry. “We have to make these plans and the government has to prepare, not necessarily publicly, for this situation,” Mr Reynolds told the BBC. “There is a lot of complacency in this country about the relatively lower exposure to Russian gas that we have.” The idea was rejected by Grant Shapps, the Minister of Transport, who said that “it was not the route we wanted to take”. Sources in the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the UK was facing “a price issue, not a supply issue” and that the ticket would not be imported into Britain. Robert Habek, the German energy minister, has suggested that such a plan may be needed in Europe if Russia cuts off gas supplies to Germany and other countries in retaliation for sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine.
