28 March 2008
The UK's nuclear industry should be expanded to create more energy and more jobs, Business Secretary John Hutton has said.
In a speech to trade unionists on March 26, Hutton said he wanted Britain to become the 'number one place in the world for new nuclear investment'. He went on: 'This low-carbon revolution presents real opportunities for British people and companies: new skills, new wealth, new jobs.'
Hutton said that 100,000 jobs would be created, which would help to 'provide the push for a significant expansion of nuclear power in the UK in the coming decades'.
His message coincided with the state visit to the UK of France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, accompanied by his new wife, supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni.
The UK gets 20% of its electricity from nuclear power plants, compared with 79% in France, and on March 27 Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Sarkozy announced agreements on new co-operation on nuclear energy, among other issues.
No new nuclear power plants have been built in the UK since 1994, but Hutton said he wanted a 'significantly higher proportion' of electricity to come from this source and called for an investment boost to the UK's existing 23 plants.
PFmar2008
