Britain will be immune from any gas shortages caused by the row between Russia and Ukraine, the Government said tonight.

Britain will be immune from any gas shortages caused by the row between Russia and Ukraine, the Government said tonight.

UK dependence on Russia for gas is so small that any shortfall could be made up from other sources, the Department of Energy and Climate Change said.

The reassurance came amid growing concern about major disruption in some EU countries following Moscow's decision to turn off the gas tap to Ukraine in a dispute over high prices and unpaid bills.

The EU depends on Russia for about 25% of its gas supplies and the bulk of Russia's gas exports arrive via Ukraine.

But according to the Government, while some central European countries are already hit by the crisis, the UK is shielded by its variety of gas sources.

"We do not expect this dispute to impact UK supplies because the UK has diverse sources of gas supply which means we are not reliant on any single supplier," a Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman said.

"We import less than 2% of our gas from Russia and can replace this from other sources if we need to."

Nevertheless the Department echoed an EU demand that Moscow kept full supplies moving.

A spokesman said: "We back the EU's call for gas supplies to be restored immediately, and that both parties (Russia and Ukraine) restart negotiations with a view to a speedy resolution of this commercial dispute."

Earlier Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Greece reported the virtual closures of supplies, despite assurances from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that gas would still flow to Europe despite reductions to Ukraine.

That prompted the European Commission and the Czech government, now holding the EU Presidency, to step up the rhetoric.

In a joint statement they said: "Without prior warning and in clear contradiction with the reassurances given by the highest Russian and Ukrainian authorities to the EU, gas supplies to some EU member states have been substantially cut. This situation is completely unacceptable."

A similar row three years ago prompted an EU review of energy security policy, including stepping up gas storage facilities.

But tonight Tom Foulkes, director general of the Institution of Civil Engineers, said little had changed: "The current Russian gas crisis highlights just how vulnerable countries relying on gas imports for their energy can be.

"In the UK our gas storage capacity is woefully inadequate, currently allowing us to provide for only 15-20 days.

"By comparison, France's capability is 122 days and Germany's is 99 days.

"Though we currently only rely on Russia for a very little of our gas imports, this could increase dramatically over the coming years if we don't press ahead with UK-based initiatives."

He called for bigger investment by energy companies in greater storage capacity, and pointed out that the UK could face higher gas prices if a "sudden, massive cut" in European supply pushed up prices generally.

Ian Parrett of Inenco, the UK's largest energy analyst, said: "We are not experiencing supply shortfalls in the UK but the markets are already responding.

"With future dependence on imported gas, Britain needs to make energy security a key priority or risk being held to ransom. Direct Government investment is vital if the country is to meet this growing challenge."

Inenco has reported jumps in the "forward" and "spot" prices of gas of 10% and 20% respectively today, because of uncertainty about future supplies.

Worst hit so far are Bulgaria and Austria.

Bulgaria, heavily reliant on gas from Russia, has already warned it may be forced to reopen nuclear power reactors closed down two years ago as part of EU membership terms.

Largest EU importers of Russian gas are Italy and Germany - but both countries also have significant alternatives sources and face no immediate threat.

Hopes of a swift restoration of full services now rest on talks scheduled later this week between Ukraine and Russia to end the wrangle.