Nationalist nuclear policy 'a disaster'

Published on Saturday 29 March 2008 19:28

THE SNP's non-nuclear policy will be a "disaster" for Scotland, a UK Cabinet minister warned last night.

Business Secretary John Hutton said that the Scottish Government's decision to oppose any new nuclear power stations would have a detrimental effect on the nation's economy, with the loss of 10,000 jobs.

He also raised concerns that Westminster wants to strip Alex Salmond of his power to veto nuclear power when he insisted that "energy security" – generating enough power to keep the lights on – was a UK matter.

"For energy security to work for every part of the UK, we have to work together. We can't have a pick-and-mix approach to energy security in different parts of the country," said Hutton.

Mike Weir, the SNP's energy spokesman at Westminster, dismissed Hutton's comments as "nonsense" and promised that the SNP would "fight tooth and nail" to stop the UK Government "grabbing powers back from the Scottish Parliament".

A Scottish Government source added: "The Scottish Government's non-nuclear energy strategy is absolutely right for Scotland, and is based on the responsibilities devolved to the Scottish Parliament. If John Hutton wants to take these powers back to Westminster he had better say so loud and clear and not be mealy mouthed about it – in which case he will get an extremely dusty answer from the people of Scotland."

A spokesman for Hutton said later he was not out to undermine the existing devolution settlement. However, as Scotland on Sunday revealed last month, Westminster MPs, including former defence minister Adam Ingram, and the Confederation of British Industry in Scotland want Salmond stripped of his ability to block nuclear power stations.

In an online article for Scotland on Sunday, Hutton said: "An energy policy that ruled out one of our key energy sources would be a disaster for both our energy security and for the economy in Scotland."