A KEY figure in the battle to promote low carbon vehicles has resigned after the Government rejected his team’s ideas.

Colin Matthews, head of transport grant programmes at the Energy Saving Trust, worked with a team at the Department for Transport (DfT) to develop proposals for grants to encourage greater use of low carbon cars. But earlier this year the DfT rejected the majority of the grant programmes suggested.

Matthews said: ‘As a result of this reduced Government funding and its impact on the Energy Saving Trust, I have elected to take redundancy from the EST.’

Richard Tarboton, head of the EST’s transport business unit, said Matthews’ role had effectively gone with the rejection of the grant programmes by the Government. He said: ‘There are no more programmes to run. It’s unfortunate and we were disappointed by the DfT’s decision.’

Tarboton said Matthews and his team had a distinguished record. ‘They have really helped the move towards low carbon vehicles,’ he added.