Oral Answers to Questions

Damian Collins Excerpts

Wednesday 16th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I will certainly look very carefully at what the hon. Lady says. She speaks very powerfully on behalf of her constituents about something that, yes, happened many years ago, but people will still have strong family memories of what happened at that time. I will look carefully at what she says and see what support my office and I can give.

[Damian Collins (Folkestone and Hythe) (Con)]

Does the Prime Minister agree that nuclear power stations in the UK, such as Dungeness in my constituency, have an excellent safety record, and that new nuclear power will be an important part of our energy needs in future?

[The Prime Minister]

I do think that nuclear power should be part of the mix in future, as it is part of the mix right now. Obviously, I am sure that everyone watching the dreadful events in Japan will want to make sure that we learn any lessons. Of course there are big differences: we do not have those reactor designs in the UK, nor do we plan to, and we are not in a similar seismically important and significant area. Nevertheless, I am sure that there will be lessons to learn, and that is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change has asked the head of nuclear inspections and safety to learn the lessons, and to make sure that we do so in our country.