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15 April 2016 / Tim Malloch
Issue: 7696 / Categories: Features , Public , Environment
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A Chinese takeaway (Pt 3)

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Hinkley Point C: Tim Malloch reports on a French letter & corporate chaos

In February, a family in Swansea became the first family in the UK to own a Tesla Powerwall. The home storage battery has been described as the missing link for solar energy. It allows homes to store the electricity generated by their solar panels during the day until it is needed later when demand is higher (5 February, The Guardian).

A month later, corporate chaos breaks out at EDF. The energy giant, 85% owned by the French government, is trying to build a new nuclear power station in the UK—Hinkley Point C (HPC) —but it cannot bring itself to commit to a Final Investment Decision (FID). The HPC project director, Chris Bakken, and EDF's finance director, Thomas Piquemal, have both resigned. To lose one director is unfortunate, but to lose two in such close proximity seems like carelessness.

On 10 March, Bakken wrote to The Times to rebut the suggestion that he resigned because he did

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

NEWS
The legal profession’s claim to be a ‘guardian of fairness’ is under scrutiny after stark findings on gender imbalance and opaque progression. Writing in NLJ this week, Joshua Purser of No5 Barristers’ Chambers and Govindi Deerasinghe of Global 50/50 warn that leadership remains dominated by a narrow elite, with men holding 71% of top court roles
A legal challenge to police disclosure rules has failed, reinforcing a push for transparency in policing. In NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth examines a case where the Metropolitan Police required officers to declare membership of groups like the Freemasons
Bereavement leave is undergoing a quiet but profound transformation. Writing in NLJ this week, Robert Hargreaves of York St John University explains how the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a day-one right to leave for a wider range of losses, alongside new provisions for pregnancy loss and bereaved partners
Courts are beginning to grapple with whether AI-generated material is legally privileged—and the answers are mixed. In this week's issue of NLJ, Stacie Bourton, Tom Whittaker & Beata Kolodziej of Burges Salmon examine US rulings showing how easily privilege can be lost
New guidance seeks to bring order to the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Minesh Tanna and David Bridge of Simmons & Simmons set out a framework stressing ‘transparency’, ‘explainability’ and ‘reliability’
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