//Why would UK Gov. pay to clear up the site of a privately (Indian) owned Company, doesn't make sense, even for Labour.//
that harks back to the original privatisations. when the assets were sold, the buyers were given exemptions (of years) on the setting up of decommissioning funds (restoration bonds), the offset being a slightly higher price for the assets, which the government then used to fund tax breaks for the banking sector. now the decommissioning funds are needed, there's nothing in the pot. this is most noticeable in the coal industry, where one authority in Wales is having to grant permission for a massive strip mining operation to fund the restoration of another huge hole that Celtic Energy walked away from a few years ago. Legalised theft, guys.