Nuclear power statement

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has named 10 potential sites for new nuclear power stations in England and Wales, most of them in locations where there are already plants.

In a Commons statement on 9 November, Mr Miliband said that despite increases in renewable energy a boost to nuclear power would be needed to meet the nation's energy needs.

He confirmed that the planning process would be streamlined to prevent applications being unnecessarily held up, offering a clear timetable of one year from the acceptance of an application to a decision.

For the Tories, Greg Clark said Mr Miliband's statement was a "declaration of a national emergency for our energy security".

He asked: "Why did they leave it so late to act?"

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat spokesman Simon Hughes said he had not been reassured that nuclear power was either "safe or secure".

He asked how the next generation of nuclear power stations were any more likely to be built without taxpayers' money than the last generation.