Dame Mary Archer has been removed from her role as a non-executive board member of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), in a move that has triggered accusations of political bias and intolerance of dissent within Ed Miliband’s department.
The 80-year-old energy expert and wife of Conservative peer Lord Archer was summoned to the department on Friday and informed that her services were no longer required. The decision, reportedly taken by departmental permanent secretary Jeremy Pocklington, follows speculation about internal divisions within the government over its ambitious net zero strategy.
Sources close to Dame Mary said her removal came without warning, and highlighted the timing — just days after Sir Tony Blair publicly criticised the government’s net zero policy, calling it “doomed to fail”. Dame Mary is said to broadly share that assessment.
Sir Christopher Chope, a Conservative MP and member of the Commons energy security and net zero committee, accused the government of trying to “suppress all opposition” to its climate agenda.
“Clearly they are not interested in listening to people on their board who may have a different point of view,” he said.
Dame Mary’s dismissal has added to growing political tension over Ed Miliband’s leadership of DESNZ. Downing Street this week refused to confirm whether Miliband would remain in post until the next general election, amid reports that his more radical climate policies are at odds with Sir Keir Starmer’s increasingly cautious tone on net zero — particularly on issues like the petrol car ban.
Appointed by former Conservative energy secretary Claire Coutinho in February 2024, Dame Mary was widely praised for her academic expertise in solar energy, including as founder chair of the National Energy Foundation and co-founder of the UK section of the International Solar Energy Society.
Coutinho described the decision to remove her as a “huge shame”, and criticised the department under Miliband for “scientifically illiterate” claims and failing to publish transparent costings for renewables.
“If anything, Ed needs to bring more scientists like Dame Mary into his team,” she added.
The sacking comes just months after Dame Mary was also blocked by the Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, from taking up a role as chair of London’s Royal Parks — a move labelled “spiteful” at the time by MPs on the Commons culture committee.
The government insisted the latest dismissal was part of a “wider board refresh” to align with the Prime Minister’s goals to lower household bills and make the UK a “clean energy superpower”.
“The Secretary of State thanks Dame Mary for her work as a member of the board,” a government spokesperson said.
Dame Mary declined to comment, but her allies warn that her removal reflects a broader issue: an apparent unwillingness within Miliband’s department to accommodate independent scientific voices who may challenge the prevailing policy direction.
Her departure reduces the number of non-executive board members on the 11-member DESNZ board, which includes Miliband, industry minister Sarah Jones, and Labour peer Lord Hunt of Kings Heath.
As Miliband faces increasing scrutiny over the cost, feasibility, and delivery of the government’s net zero goals, critics say this latest episode raises serious questions about transparency, scientific independence, and political control within one of Whitehall’s most high-profile departments.
