Westminster has denounced Holyrood as
irresponsible after it conceded no new nuclear power stations would be built in Scotland.
BLOG Douglas Fraser on the nuclear fall-out
Douglas Fraser on the nuclear issue"
Westminster has denounced Holyrood as irresponsible after it conceded no new nuclear power stations would be built in Scotland.
As the UK Government yesterday announced it was inviting energy companies to tender to build a new generation of nuclear plants, ministers from either side of the border clashed.
Given that Holyrood is the planning authority north of the border, none of the estimated 10 plants the Prime Minister wants to see providing a significant part of Britain's energy beyond 2020 will be built in Scotland.
John Swinney, the Scottish Finance Secretary, hailed Scotland's exclusion as a "great success for the Scottish Government" while John Hutton, Westminster's Business Secretary, branded the SNP's anti-nuclear stance a "political stunt".
Gordon Brown insisted a fresh wave of plants was in the "national interest" to help secure the UK's energy supply and meet carbon reduction targets.
The news was welcomed by pro-nuclear and business groups but was attacked by environmentalists, opposition politicians and some Labour supporters.
As well as the announcement on nuclear, the UK Government published an Energy Bill signalling greater deployment of renewable energy and more investment in carbon capture and storage as well as offshore gas. In the Commons, it was clear Mr Hutton and many Scots Labour MPs were incensed by opposition from Alex Salmond's government to replacing Hunterston B in Ayrshire and Torness in East Lothian.
The Secretary of State insisted nuclear energy was a "tried and tested, safe and secure form of low carbon technology". He said Westminster had invited Holyrood to use a Sewel Motion in the Scottish Parliament to ensure the Energy Bill operated on a UK-wide basis but that its offer had been rebuffed.
Insisting it was "a missed opportunity", he said: "I believe it is more to do with making a political stunt than taking a responsible, long-term decision in the best interests of either Scottish electricity consumers or the wider UK perspective. I regret that and I believe Scottish Government ministers will come to regret that decision, too."
But Mr Swinney stressed new plants were "unwanted and unnecessary" north of the border and that Mr Hutton knew full well the depth of Scottish public opposition to them. "The UK Energy Bill provisions on nuclear power do not extend to Scotland. This is a great success for the Scottish Government," he said.
Mr Swinney also claimed London's decision would hit Scottish consumers. "Scots now face the prospect of increased electricity prices to fund the decommissioning of English nuclear power stations," he said.
Outwith Westminster, Iain McMillan, director of CBI Scotland, said the Scottish Government was wrong to rule out nuclear, while Duncan McLaren of Friends of the Earth Scotland claimed a new nuclear build would "store up problems for the future".
