Calls for nuclear power debate - London

Calls for nuclear power debate | This is London

An industry leader has urged the Government to launch a nationwide debate about nuclear power amid concerns that lights were "beginning to flicker" because of a lack of new generating capacity.

Gordon Masterton, new president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, said most people still regarded nuclear as a dirty word.

"It's time the Government bit the bullet and encouraged a wider national debate so that the public have the facts about our energy options.

"With the general election behind them, the Government needs to tackle an issue they seem in fear of confronting, and give the go-ahead for a new generation of nuclear stations before the threat of blackouts becomes more frequent."

The institution said nuclear power stations, currently producing 22% of the UK's electricity, were closing down at a rapid rate, leaving just one generating power by 2023.

The institution recently published a report warning that another year had gone by without any new generating capacity being built, so although lights were not going out, they were beginning to flicker.