Mr Fleming said: “When it comes to customers, all of us, if you are a customer of one of these companies that have gone bust, then, in theory, you will automatically be transferred to another energy company that is surviving.

       “Because that company that you've been given to will not guarantee the same price as you were getting before.

       “So there's that.”

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       He continued: “There's also the fact that the energy price cap which everyone benefits from is going to go up next month anyway to reflect all the things that have been happening in the gas market.

       “So that's how it affects consumers.”

       “In terms of how it affects the industry, the energy companies are having to take on a huge number of new customers.

       “But because of the energy price cap, they are not allowed to charge those customers.”

       “Then there's the timing of all of this. The prime minister says this is temporary, and he's kind of right because the factors that are affecting the gas price could go back to normal eventually.

       “But then you hear the Energy Secretary saying this is actually going to be a bit of a long-term thing, then you suddenly realise the word temporary doesn't actually necessarily mean short, does it?”