Thank goodness, climate change policy is in good hands

As if fighting climate deniers and vested interests using illegal methods wasn't hard enough, we are confronted with yet more evidence of the immense power of the legal but fatal embrace of governments and corporations.

And to add insult injury, most of the 23 employees of major energy companies who are currently seconded to Britain's Department of Energy and Climate Change are paid by the government - paid, that is, with our money.

The details have become public thanks to Green MP Caroline Lucas' use of the Freedom of Information Act - which former prime minister Tony Blair has described as his biggest mistake.

The final paragraph of the Guardian report of this perfectly respectable relationship (further reinforced by equally respectable movements of DECC civil servants to energy companies) ends with the information that "A Guardian analysis of declared meetings showed there were 195 meetings between Decc ministers and energy companies and their lobby groups between the 2010 general election and March 2011. There were 17 meetings with green campaign groups."

In the light of concerns over such close if somewhat one-sided proximity between the state and business interests, I am indeed grateful for the DECC's assurance that the arrangement is "normal" and "standing practice" across government.