U.K. PM Blair: Debate on Nuclear Energy Should Be 'Conducted with an open mind.'

From 10 Downing Street:

Tony Blair insisted that he would take 'whatever decisions were right for this country' when choosing the future direction of the UK's energy supplies.

Speaking at his monthly press conference in Downing Street, the PM said the debate on whether to build new nuclear plants should be 'conducted with an open mind by everybody.'

But evidence of global warming was 'too strong to ignore', he added, and this put the issue of energy 'centre stage'

"For a country like Britain, our present nuclear power is going to be phased out over 10-15 years. We have a very ambitious renewables target and there are obviously issues there that we have got to address and get right.'

"I am not pre-empting the debate at all. We will take whatever decisions are right for the country.''

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