"We have shown that we are open for business and there is a clear pathway, " said Lord Marland.

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Lord Marland has become the second Tory minister in the House of Lords to stand down in a matter of days.

BBC: Lord Marland stands down as business minister

Junior energy and climate change minister Lord Marland said at question time that the government retained "confidence" in the leadership of the IPCC.

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Energy and climate change minister Lord Marland, opening the debate, said the government's aims were energy security, a low-carbon economy, and value for money for the taxpayer.

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The BBC's political correspondent Vicki Young said Lord Marland was "quite a close friend" of Lord Strathclyde so the timing of his departure was unlikely to be much of a coincidence.

BBC: Lord Marland stands down as business minister

Energy minister Greg Barker tweeted that he was "very sorry" to see Lord Marland leave the government, saying he had done a "fantastic job" and ministers had benefited from his "business brain".

BBC: Lord Marland stands down as business minister

Finally, a question from Lib Dem Lord Ezra on carbon capture led energy and climate change minister Lord Marland to explain the Longannet project was withdrawn because "financing was going off the dial".

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Lord Marland was the only business minister in the Upper House, she added, and his departure reflected both his frustration at the job he was having to do there and his belief that he could achieve more as the prime minister's trade envoy.

BBC: Lord Marland stands down as business minister

Since September Lord Marland has been an unpaid junior minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - acting as the government's business spokesman in the House of Lords - having previously held a similar role in the Department for Energy and Climate Change.

BBC: Lord Marland stands down as business minister