The boss of Great British Energy has been given a five-year target for Labour’s flagship state-owned energy company to become “profitable”, MPs have been told.

Juergen Maier, who was appointed chairman of GB Energy in June, was asked at the Commons energy security and net zero committee whether he had a timeline on profitability.

He told MPs: “I’ve been set a target which is within this Parliamentary term. 

“We’re going to have to be innovative on this. It’s not just going to be a return from investments, there are going to be other support lines we develop within GB Energy.”

Maier said he wanted GB Energy to work on accelerating projects through the planning system, meaning they could ultimately sell the expertise as a service to developers.