COP26 president Alok Sharma and communities secretary Robert Jenrick are said to have clashed over Mr Jenrick’s decision to approve a new coal mine in West Cumbria.

The proposed £165m scheme, at Whitehaven in Cumbria, was originally approved by Cumbria County Council in October.

The government could have called in the plans to make a final decision, however, earlier this month Mr Jenrick said that he was “content that it should be determined by the local planning authority”.

The Times reported on Sunday that on January 6, Mr Jenrick formally refused to intervene in the project to remove coking coal from beneath the Irish Sea for steel-making.

A government source said Mr Jenrick did not consult Mr Sharma or other ministers on the plan, in line with planning guidance.

Although controversial plans to open a new coal mine in West Cumbria were given the green light by Cumbria County Council’s Development Control and Regulation Committee in October 2020, formal permission was not officially granted.

The move comes as the UK prepares to hold a crucial international Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November, and when its domestic agenda is pushing to phase out coal from the power sector as early as 2024.

Campaigners, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, have criticised the go-ahead for the coal mine, warning it undermines the Government’s claims it is committed to cut emissions to net zero by 2050.

The British government is set to head a UN climate summit in November and has launched the ‘Powering Past Coal’ alliance of nations to relinquish coal.

Fiji is an alliance member - and its UN ambassador Satyendra Prasad has said opening a new mine sends the wrong signal.

“Investment in renewables in place of coal is the morally correct choice. In the global climate struggle, words are extremely important. Deeds matter even more,” he said.