Director of Ofgem QUITS in protest energy regulator is not doing enough to help Britons

Labour shadow secretary of state for climate change Ed Miliband has accused the government of being 'asleep at the wheel' after the explosive resignation. by Christine Farnish

Christine Farnish said Ofgem had "not struck the right balance between the interests of consumers and the interests of providers"

The government has been criticized after the resignation of an Ofgem director, saying the regulator has failed to protect struggling households.

Christine Farnish walked away from the watchdog under fire, saying it hasn't “stripped the right balance between consumer interests and supplier interests”.

Labour's shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband has accused the government of 'falling asleep at the wheel' after the explosive resignation.

It comes as Britons face months of misery which could see the ceiling for energy prices soar to as high as £5,500 in the spring, according to grim forecasts.

Mr. Miliband said, "For 12 years, conservatives have totally failed to regulate (the) energy market. In no other country have 32 energy providers gone bankrupt.

"We simply cannot allow the British people to suffer another rise in bills. It is intolerable that the Tories continue to offer no solution to this crisis and oppose the Labor plan."

Struggling Britons will face soaring energy bills in the coming months (file image)

The energy regulator has come under fire in recent months for not doing enough to protect families during the global energy crisis.

Ms Farnish, who served on the Ofgem board for several years, told the newspaper: 'I have resigned from the Ofgem board because I could not support a key decision recover additional supplier costs from consumer bills this winter."

She said she believed the move would "add several hundred pounds to everyone's bill to support a number of suppliers over the coming months".

It is understood that his resignation is linked to Ofgem's decision to change the price cap methodology to allow suppliers to recoup some of the high costs of energy 'offset' at the earliest.

A spokesperson for Ofgem said: 'We are grateful to Christine for her many years of dedicated service to Ofgem.

"Due to this unprecedented energy crisis, Ofgem has to make incredibly difficult decisions where carefully balanced trade-offs are constantly weighed. But we always put the needs of consumers both short and long term first.< /p>