'Catastrophic mistake'! Theresa May sparks Tory civil war over Badenoch's net zero pledge

Theresa May has slammed Kemi Badenoch's pledge to scrap the UK's world-leading climate legislation as a "catastrophic mistake".

Baroness May of Maidenhead was the Prime Minister between 2016 and 2019 who strengthened net zero targets by making the UK the first major industrialised country to legislate to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

This replaced an earlier goal of an 80% reduction.

The former Tory leader said: "

She said: "I am deeply disappointed by this retrograde step which upends 17 years of consensus between our main political parties and the scientific community.

"For nearly two decades, the United Kingdom has led the way in tackling climate change, initially with the Climate Change Act in 2008, and again in 2019, when we became the first G7 country to legislate to get to net zero by 2050.

"To row back now would be a catastrophic mistake, for while that consensus is being tested, the science remains the same. The harms are undeniable. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to ensure we protect the planet for their futures, and that means giving business the reassurance it needs to find the solutions for the very grave challenges we face.

"Ultimately, it is innovation and investment that will take us forward, but that can only be achieved by providing consistency and showing a clear determination to stick to the long-term path of reducing emissions, achieving net zero and protecting our planet for future generations."

A spokesman for Lord Cameron, her predecessor as prime minister who also championed environmental causes in office, declined to comment.

Meanwhile Lord Alok Sharma, who is a former Cop26 president and served as business, energy and industrial strategy secretary under Boris Johnson, urged his party not to "squander" its legacy of climate progress "for the sake of short-term political expediency".

His comments came after the Tories announced plans to repeal the Climate Change Act,

Lord Sharma, who now chairs the UK's Transition Finance Council, said: "Thanks to the strong and consistent commitment of the previous Conservative government to climate action and net zero, the UK attracted many tens of billions of pounds of private sector investment and accompanying jobs.

"This is a story of British innovation, economic growth, skilled jobs and global leadership - not just a matter of environmental stewardship.

"Turning our back on this progress now risks future investment and jobs into our country, as well as our international standing.

"The path to a prosperous, secure and electable future for the Conservative Party lies in building on our achievements, not abandoning them.

"Voters, especially younger people and those in key marginal seats which we need to retain or win back, expect serious, coherent and forward-looking policies from the Conservative Party.

"Our legacy is one of global leadership. We should not squander this for the sake of short-term political expediency."

But Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho defended the Conservatives' plan, insisting that the Government needs to "put cheap electricity first".

Ms Coutinho argued that the Climate Change Act forces politicians to make decisions that make Britons poorer.

She said: "One of the biggest problems that the country faces is that our electricity prices are too high.

"So, what we've said is we have to look at why that's happening. Some of that is because of the Climate Change Act, which creates this very rigid budget and makes ministers choose these decisions, which are going to make them poorer.

"So we need to repeal that and we need to rethink our energy strategy, to put cheap electricity first."

Acknowledging that it was the Conservatives who brought in the net zero by 2050 target, Ms Coutinho said her party needs to "look at things where we think we were in the wrong position".