It remains unclear whether or not London mayor Boris Johnson lobbied the government over proposed cuts to the feed-in tariff after a London Assembly deadline for him to do so expired.
Last week London Assembly member Stephen Knight laid a motion calling on the mayor to lobby the government on behalf of the solar industry and arrange for the Assembly to meet with energy secretary Amber Rudd.
This morning a tweet to Solar Power Portal from former energy secretary Greg Barker suggested that the mayor had indeed lobbied the government, as did the London Sustainable Development Commission, of which Barker is chair.
@Solar_Editor @MayorofLondon @google Yes he did and so did #LSDC
— Gregory Barker (@GregBarkerUK) November 9, 2015
However speaking to Solar Power Portal this afternoon, Knight said that it “would be news” to him if the Mayor had indeed organised anything, and further calls to the London Assembly press office could not confirm what action – if any – the mayor had taken.
Knight said that it was a matter of urgency that the Assembly met with Rudd and confirmed that the London Assembly was looking to organise for a meeting as soon as possible. If the mayor has not managed to arrange a meeting, then a letter written by the Assembly chairman would be drafted this week.
“Obviously if the mayor has agreed in the meantime then we'll work with him to go along at a time that he can arrange. I hope that meeting can happen as soon as possible and clearly before any final decision is taken on the feed-in tariffs.
“Time is entirely of the essence and we've got to get a meeting in as soon as possible. I think beyond this if the FiT is removed then the mayor and local government need to start thinking whether it can provide some kind of incentive to help the uptake of solar in London as well,” Knight added.