Kremlin control of British Gas? It could have happened | Nils Pratley

Back in 2006, the government of the day took the rumoured takeover lying downDo you remember 2006? The Queen turned 80, Steve McClaren became the manager of England’s football team and investors were obsessing over speculation that Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy giant, was about to bid for Centrica, the owner of British Gas.The deal never happened, of course, but the tale wasn’t idle gossip. Gazprom executives created the excitement by saying an acquisition of Centri