Coal and nuclear plants 'essential' for energy security

Building more coal and nuclear power stations is essential for Britain’s energy security, business and enterprise secretary John Hutton has said.

Speaking at the Labour Party conference, Hutton said stopping the building of coal-fired plants would not change the UK’s carbon emissions but would damage energy security.

He said the country’s economic competitiveness relied upon becoming more self-sufficient in energy, reported the Daily Telegraph.

He said: “Coal is a critically important fuel for the UK – flexible, available.

“Stopping the building of coal-fired power stations would make no difference to the UK’s total carbon emissions, but would damage our energy security.”