British prime minister Tony Blair has given his strongest indication yet that his government will pursue the construction of a new generation of nuclear power plants. He said the issue was "back on the agenda with a vengeance" because of rising energy prices and global warming, writes Liam Reid, Political Reporter.
His comments prompted an angry response from the Government, which indicated that it would now consider taking a legal challenge against any proposed nuclear plants on the controversial Sellafield site.
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche last night said he was "deeply disappointed" by Mr Blair's comments and questioned whether he was pre-empting the outcome of an ongoing review of British energy policy.
Last night in a speech to British industry leaders, Mr Blair said he had received a "first cut" of the review.
"The facts are stark," he said, adding that if policy was not changed, the British economy would become 90 per cent dependent on the import of foreign gas and that it would be totally unable to meet its greenhouse gas reduction commitments.
"These facts put the replacement of nuclear power stations, a big push on renewables and a step-change on energy efficiency, engaging both business and consumers, back on the agenda with a vengeance," he said.
He added: "If we don't take these long-term decisions now, we will be committing a serious dereliction of our duty to the future of this country."
Last night there were reports in the British media that the government would also be considering changes to the planning process to help fast-track the new stations.
At present one fifth of Britain's power needs are being met by nuclear power, but the majority of these plants are more than two decades old and most are due to close by 2020. While a decision to pursue a new generation of power stations may not result in the construction of new power plants on the Sellafield site, it will almost certainly lead to increased levels of nuclear waste at the Cumbria facility, which is the only nuclear waste reprocessing site in the UK.
The British government has also braced itself for an angry reaction, with Mr Blair's spokesman predicting "despairing shrieks of outrage" in response to the British prime minister's comments.
Reacting to the speech last night, Mr Roche claimed that a decision to replace the current ageing British nuclear plants with new facilities was "shortsighted".
"It will curse future generations with the the legacy of waste from these power stations," he said. "While I respect the right of a sovereign government to set its own policies, I am deeply disappointed," he said.
"I had thought there was going to be a logical debate about nuclear power, but the outcome of this energy review appears to be predetermined."
Mr Roche denied that the Irish Government was powerless to prevent the construction of a new generation of nuclear power stations in Britain, in the wake of a finding by the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that the Government breached European law by pursuing a case against the British government over Sellafield through international courts instead of the European court itself.
Mr Roche said that if this finding is upheld by the European Court of Justice when it delivers its full judgment next month, the Government would be pursuing a new case on Sellafield through the ECJ.
Reacting to yesterday's announcement by Mr Blair, Mr Roche said expanding the action to include proposals for new nuclear facilities in Britain would be considered by the Government.