Blair changes mind on nuclear power
Wednesday, 5 July 2006 12:00 AM
Tony Blair has admitted that he is now in favour of nuclear power following a change of heart.
The prime minister indicated that he has made up his mind on the building of a new generation of nuclear power stations ahead of the publication of the government's own energy review later this month.
He told the liaison committee: "I'll be absolutely open with you, I've changed my mind."
The last energy review in 2003 described nuclear power as an "unattractive option" and recommended greater emphasis on renewable energy sources.
But on Tuesday Mr Blair told senior MPs: "I think when you look at the evidence it's very hard to see where we are going to get ... more energy supplies and tackle greenhouse emissions, without having nuclear power."
However, his case will not be helped by reports that many of the country's existing nuclear power stations are structurally defective.
According to documents written by the government's nuclear inspectors, obtained by Greenpeace, the bricks used in 14 of the UK's nuclear reactors are cracked.
Greenpeace called for the dangerous reactors to be shut down, but British Energy, which runs the reactors, denied there was a cause for concern.
The current energy review was launched last November to look at how to achieve "clean, reliable, affordable energy supplies for the long term".
New coal and gas technologies are also being looked at alongside nuclear power, according to the government.
Since the previous energy review, Britain has moved from being self-sufficient in gas to a net gas importer. In addition, the majority of the country's nuclear and coal power stations, which generate 30 per cent of the UK's electricity supply, are likely to have been decommissioned by 2020.
Mr Blair said it was "difficult for me to see, on the basis of the evidence now, that we can have secure energy supply" without nuclear power stations.
Greenpeace executive director Stephen Tindale described the plan to build more nuclear power stations as "staggeringly irresponsible", particularly in light of today's revelations.
On behalf of Greenpeace, independent nuclear expert John Large has analysed correspondence between British Energy (BE), which runs 13 of the UK's advance gas reactors (AGRs), and the Nuclear Safety Directorate.
His analysis of a report on the safety of Hinkley Point AGR reactor in Somerset, run by British Energy, shows that graphite bricks, which help to control the nuclear reaction, are cracked and could cause safety mechanisms to fail in a severe event, and potentially result in a radiological release.
Mr Large said: "In view of the increased risk presented by the continued operation of these nuclear power plants, the reactors should immediately be shut down."
British Energy said in a statement: "It is accepted by the NII (Nuclear Installations Inspectorate) and the industry in general that cracks will occur in some of the bricks as part of the normal ageing process within the graphite reactor core. This is a phenomenon known about and anticipated for within the safety case."
The Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Safety Directorate added: "Matters have moved on since April and British Energy has provided new evidence in support of the reactor core safety case. If HSE were not confident in the safety of the reactor cores we would not allow the reactors to operate."
But Greenpeace's Mr Tindale said: "It is clear that Tony Blair should shut these dangerous reactors down. Yet it's almost as if he feels that having to turn off AGR nuclear plants to prevent a nuclear accident might be problematic just before he formally announces his staggeringly irresponsible plan to build more nuclear power plants."
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