Dame Mary Archer has been sacked from the board of Ed Miliband's Net Zero team amid claims she was sceptical of his strategies.

The 80-year-old scientist, the wife of best-selling novelist and Tory grandee Jeffrey Archer, had been on the board of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero since February last year.

She was reportedly summoned to the department on Friday and told she was being removed as a non-executive board member.

It was reported Dame Mary broadly shared former prime minister Tony Blair's assessment of Government policy, after his intervention last week that the strategy based on phasing out fossil fuels in the short term or curbing consumption was 'doomed to fail'.

Dame Mary, an accomplished chemist and former chairman of the Science Museum Group, had attended board meetings chaired by Mr Miliband and provided 'over-arching strategic guidance and insight to the department'.

Sir Christopher Chope, a Tory member of the Commons energy security and Net Zero committee, condemned the move. 

'I think they are quite keen to suppress all opposition to their Net Zero zealotry,' he told The Telegraph.

'Clearly they are not interested in listening to people on their board who have a different point of view.

'The attitude of the Secretary of State seems to be to double down and resist all criticism... and this has just added to the challenge of holding the Government to account on these policies.'

Sir Tony said Britons would resent 'being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know their impact on global emissions is minimal'.

The comments, in a foreword to a report by his think-tank, sparked a furious backlash from some Labour elements, although other MPs and ministers insisted he had been right to voice concerns.

Sir Keir Starmer's official spokesman later praised Mr Miliband, but stopped short of guaranteeing he would remain in post for the rest of this Parliament.

A Government spokesman said the decision to sack Dame Mary was made 'as part of a wider restructuring' of the board.