In the hierarchy of excuses for tipping Britain into a month of blackouts, ‘the Met Office didn’t say winter would be cold’ must surely rank among the most abject possible. And yet this seems to be the story the government is running with; faced with the possibility of having to implement rolling power cuts, Conservatives are briefing that forecasters working from home has led to shoddy predictions, with the wise cabinet ministers accordingly caught out by the arrival of ice and snow.