Following the Labour Party conference in which UK prime minister Tony Blair declared an intention to undertake a full energy review in the UK, he has called for an “open-minded” debate on the future of nuclear power.

While Blair told his monthly news conference that he was not “pre-empting the [nuclear] debate” he said that concerns over possible fossil fuel shortages and global warming were too strong to ignore.

“The reasons why it has got to go on the agenda, and I am not expressing a concluded view, are security of supply and global warming,” said Blair.