A decision on whether to give the green light to a coal mine for steel production in Cumbria has been delayed by the Government, as political turmoil grips Westminster.
A date of July 7 had been set to decide whether or not to grant planning permission for the controversial coking coal mine on the edge of Whitehaven, following a planning inquiry in 2021.
But the Government has now told organisations concerned with the project that ministers would not be in a position to publish a decision by this date.
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The mine has been backed by a number of Tory MPs, but has drawn the ire of environmentalists, who warn the coal is for steelmaking so it would not help lower energy bills, most of the coal would be exported, and it would damage the UK's climate leadership credentials.
Climate Change Committee chairman Lord Deben has described the project as "absolutely indefensible".
But Boris Johnson added to speculation that the Government could approve the mine when he told the Commons last month that "plainly it makes no sense to be importing coal, particularly for metallurgical purposes, when we have our own domestic resources".
