Britain does not expect gas emergency this winter, says business minister

LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Britain does not expect to have a gas supply emergency this winter because it has enough capacity to meet demand, business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said on Monday, underlining that the government’s priority was consumers.

“Firstly ... I must stress that protecting consumers is our number one, our primary focus, and will shape our entire approach to this important issue,” Kwarteng told parliament.

“Secondly I also want to reassure the House (of Commons) ... Britain benefits from having a diverse range of gas supply sources, we have sufficient capacity and more than sufficient capacity to meet demand and we do not expect supply emergencies to occur this winter.” (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Paul Sandle, writing by Elizabeth Piper, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)