Downing Street had intervened in a row between Jones and the Department of Trade and Industry over the rocketing price of gas. Jones said industry faced a tough winter, with the prospect of widespread shutdowns. Malcolm Wicks, energy minister, said he was talking rubbish and accused him of scare-mongering.

A DTI official made a presentation to the meeting to demonstrate how Jones had got it wrong, and how consumer supplies, at least, were not in danger, no matter how cold the winter. Big industrial customers were on “interruptible” contracts. If supplies ran short, their suppliers would flick the switch, diverting gas to the consumer network.

The industrialists with Jones were not impressed. “What you don’t understand,” said one chief executive, whom Jones will not name, “is that I have operations in Wales and in Holland. If I have to turn off the gas in Wales, I will simply shift production to Holland. And it won’t be coming back in a hurry.”

Another captain of industry agreed. “I’ll send it to Poland,” he said.

Soaring gas prices — and the likely industrial fall-out — have in the past week gone from being a subject for energy- market geeks to the hottest business topic of the year. Tony Blair is expected to tackle energy policy in his keynote speech to the CBI conference on Tuesday — one of his two big addresses to British industry each year.

On the face of it, this winter’s rocketing gas prices look a simple problem with simple causes. A drop in North Sea gas production combined with cold temperatures has led to prices soaring since the start of the month, from about 30p a therm (a unit of energy) to a peak of just over 160p.

But industry experts said this supply-and-demand explanation was inaccurate. “People say this is about cold weather and rising demand for gas. It isn’t. Demand for gas is actually lower than it should be, mainly because power plants that can switch away from burning gas have already done so,” said Tom Crotty, chief executive of the chemicals group Ineos Chlor. “What has fallen down this time is the supply of gas.” Ineos Chlor, a heavy user of gas, has cut its British production by a third.

Roger Puttnam, chairman of Ford UK, told The Sunday Times there was need for more transparency and liquidity in the market. “It is a market that is easy to manipulate,” he said.

Concerns about the workings of the market for gas in Britain date back at least five years.

The Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG), a lobbying body representing companies that use large amounts of power in their processes, such as steel, paper and chemicals manufacturers, voiced concerns in 2000. It said changes in gas prices could cost British industry £500m a year.

In an open letter to industry ministers two years later, it complained about what it saw as the lackadaisical attitude of the DTI, saying difficult issues had been “kicked into the long grass”.

The group said it thought the British gas market could easily be manipulated. In a submission to a DTI consultation it said: “There is an imbalance between large suppliers and producers . . . versus smaller consumers. A few oil and gas companies who trade gas among each other undoubtedly have the ability (should they choose to use it) to set the spot price.”

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