NEC ECC: X7 Delay Costs inserted at £0 per day, Employer trying to counter charge additional PM costs to Contractor

NEC3 and NEC4 Contracts Secondary X, W and Y options
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Following a delay caused, in part, by the Principal Contractor (PC) the consultant acting as PM has applied for additional costs from the Employer (believe their fee is a time based contingent).

The Employer, in turn, has attempted to pass these costs onto the PC. However, Optional Clause x7 has been inserted into the main contract at a value of £0.00 per day. Therefore, unliquidated damages cannot be applied and any delay caused by the contractor can only be charged at a value of £0.00 per day.
Does the Employer have any other mechanism within the contract (NEC3 ECC Option A) for recovering these additional costs applied for by their PM from the PC?

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I will keep this brief…

No.

They have no other recourse - that is the whole point of putting them in at zero - to show the Contractor they have no liability and therefore would no doubt have given a cheaper tender price accordingly!

Had they not have included X7 at all, then they could have claimed for losses incurred in a court of law but outside of the contract. By setting X7 at zero they cut of that legal right.