He stopped short of saying Russia was using gas supplies for political leverage, but said the low gas flows “coincide with heightened geopolitical tensions over Ukraine. I just wanted to highlight this coincidence”. 

Russia has repeatedly denied using the high prices for political reasons, with Gazprom stressing it was meeting all its contractual obligations. 

Russia’s President Putin claimed last month that Germany was reselling Russian gas to Poland and Ukraine rather than relieving an overheated market. 

It comes as UK wholesale gas prices fell to 174p per therm, the lowest level since November, apart from December 31. Prices remain well above long-term averages of 50p, however. 

Analysts at Wood Mackenzie warned gas storage levels in Europe could drop below 15bn cubic metres by the end of March to a record low that would add to pressure on prices. 

Kateryna Filippenko, principal analyst for European gas research, said: “Cold weather in Europe could exacerbate the situation further, adding up to 10bn cubic metres to gas demand through the rest of the winter, pushing storage levels to zero unless more Russian gas is supplied, and Europe may have to tap into cushion gas to balance the market.”