Media reports this week suggested that Blair is prepared to resurrect the country's nuclear energy programme amid calls from business leaders to tackle growing concerns about power supplies in years to come.

In October, Blair himself called for an "open-minded" debate about nuclear power.

But he sidestepped the issue when pressed by members of the Commons Liaison Committee, which is made up of chairmen of all the lower house of parliament's select committees and scrutinises government policy and legislation.

Blair said the government would face "difficult and controversial decisions" connected with climate change and the use of nuclear energy

A decision about the matter would be forthcoming soon, he added, stressing that government "has got to do what it believes to be right in the long-term interests of the country."

Britain has a dozen nuclear power stations which were mostly built in the 1960s and 1970s. They provide about a quarter of the country's energy needs, compared with 40 percent for natural gas.

This week, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said energy requirements were top of the business agenda because of concerns about gas supplies and rising fuel costs.

Reports suggest Blair will use the CBI's annual conference in December to announce the government's shift in direction plus a review into the cost of nuclear energy compared with other renewable power sources.

Support for nuclear energy is mixed and Blair is likely to face opposition if he backs plans for a new generation of nuclear reactors.

Proponents argue that reactors emit relatively low levels of carbon dioxide, thus helping cut greenhouse gas emissions that lead to global warming.

Others, notably environmentalists, point to the unsolved problem of disposing of nuclear waste as well as potential disasters like that at Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union in 1986 or the threat from terrorist attack.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmement (CND) criticised what it called "the government's attempt to repackage nuclear power as the clean green solution to climate change".

CND chairwoman Kate Hudson said nuclear power was "dirty and dangerous," saying it cost more and took longer to construct than wind power projects as well as highlighting the industry's link to nuclear weapons.

"We need a safe, genuinely sustainable, global and green solution to our energy needs," she said in a statement.

"A combination of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures which are safe, effective and proven technologies are available now. The government must live up to its Kyoto agreements and invest in sustainable clean solutions to climate change."

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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