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At the Royal Courts of Justice, in London, Aquind has staged its bid to overturn the government’s decision – by questioning how the decision was reached – to reject plans for an undersea energy interconnector coming ashore in Eastney. If the legal bid succeeds, the decision-making process will have to start again.

With the huge £1.1bn scheme threatening local allotments, natural habitats, and heritage sites, the court has drawn almost a dozen members of city group Stop Aquind to protest outside, with activists left less than reassured by the hearing.

‘I’m anxious – you never know,’ said Jan Dennis from Southsea.

Portsmouth residents and members of the community campaign group Let's Stop Aquind, outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London Picture: Tom Pilgrim/PA Wire

She added: ‘I was watching the judge’s body language - it worried me that she seemed quite irritable with the barrister. But apparently she was more irritable with the barrister yesterday.

‘It has left us in limbo this year. Most judicial reviews are turned down. We will be happy when we know for sure.’

Aquind hearing: Portsmouth activists line streets outside London court as it con...

Whether Aquind’s judicial review will be in the minority of bids that are successful will hinge on the arguments advanced across the last two days – which has left the judge seemingly exasperated at times.

Stop Aquind activists outside the Royal Courts of Justice, where Aquind hopes to overturn the government's quashing of its Portsmouth plans

Aquind’s lawyers argued that an alternative interconnector route was a ‘dead duck’ and that should have been clear to former secretary of state Kwasi Kwarteng, who used the potential alternative route as a reason to turn down the Portsmouth route last year.

But the judge appeared to push back on the idea that Mr Kwarteng was presented with a clear picture of the alternative route to the Mannington substation in Dorset.

Addressing Aquind’s barrister, Mrs Justice Lieven said: ‘If you’re trying to say that Mannington was no good, it doesn’t appear that you said it. Why did (Aquind) leave it for the secretary of state to figure it out?

‘It’s bad enough for me to piece this together. You’ve left this wide open...you have to to do a lot of cross references.’

The Royal Courts of Justice, in The Strand, London.

She added: ‘There’s so many things going on in this case that seem mysterious to me.’

Key documents from the National Grid showed that the alternative route would require ‘reinforcements’ – but it was not ‘unfeasible’, according to the government’s barrister.

Mr James Strachan KC said it ‘couldn’t be clearer’ that the secretary of state had taken into consideration the alternative route’s requirements and costs.

He added that a total of five local authorities – including Portsmouth City Council and Havant Borough Council – had raised the issue of the alternative route with the secretary of state.

Portsmouth residents have been told by the judge to expect a verdict on Aquind's case before the end of the year.

Meanwhile the potential damage to Portsmouth was under the spotlight, with the government’s barrister calling them a ‘central concern’ that required further investigation into alternative plans.

Mr Strachan KC said: ‘On the face of it this is a perfectly lawful and right concern about landing the interconnector in an urban area.’

Drawing the two-day hearing to a close, Mrs Justice Lieven said she hoped to have a verdict before Christmas.

She added: ‘But I cannot promise.’

Aquind hearing: Judge questions 'mysterious' workings of £1.1bn project in Portsmouth