Monthly Archives: January 2009

The Commons reconvened today after an over-long Christmas recess.  I was fortunate enough to be drawn for a question on the military threat of Iran to the security of Britain’s energy supply:

Mr. David Jones (Clwyd, West) (Con): What recent assessment he has made of potential military threats posed by Iran.   

The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. John Hutton): We routinely assess the military capabilities of other nations’ armed forces, including those of Iran.

Mr. Jones: Last month, Iran conducted a major naval exercise in the gulf of Oman, involving more than 60 warships and military aircraft. Next month, the first shipments of liquefied natural gas will start sailing from Qatar to Milford Haven, and in due course LNG from the Persian gulf will account for some 25 per cent. of the gas consumed in this country. To what extent does the Secretary of State recognise the military threat of Iran to the security of British energy supply and to what extent is the UK working with its allies and the Gulf Co-operation Council to counter it?

Mr. Hutton: I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s remarks. He will understand that we take a close interest in these matters. Iran has the ability to contribute not just to greater global security, but to greater global energy security. Unfortunately, it is not doing that, so its influence remains malign and it poses a significant threat not just to global security, but to regional security. Naturally, we keep all those matters under careful review and we discuss all these concerns closely with our allies in the Gulf and elsewhere, but it remains the policy of Her Majesty’s Government to ensure that energy supply routes through the gulf of Aden remain open, and we have forces in place there to achieve just that.

It is to John Hutton’s credit that he was frank enough to admit that Iran does indeed pose a threat to British energy security.  However, it remains a concern that electricity generation in this country is now so dependent on imported gas from such an unstable region as the Persian Gulf and also from Russia, which has shown itself once again to be entirely willing, with complete equanimity, to cut off the energy supplies of an entire continent.

The former Labour energy minister, Brian Wilson, had an interesting article on the issue in yesterday’s Telegraph.  Wilson argues, rightly, that the Russian actions over the past few days make it clear beyond doubt that Britain must be prepared to be considerably more self-sufficient in energy.  He describes the prevailing view in government less than five years ago:

At that time, the nodding donkeys of Whitehall were preoccupied with ridding Britain of nuclear power. That seemed to me perverse, not least because it is our one serious source of carbon-free electricity at a time when carbon reduction is supposedly one of our national and global priorities.

Astonishingly, this had led the Labour Government to adopt a policy based on the premise that, by 2020, 70 per cent of our electricity would be generated from gas, 90 per cent of which would be imported. This was in the full awareness that, while there is currently a diversity of gas-exporting states, Russia would soon become virtually the sole supplier.

Wilson’s insight into the mindset of the Labour Government of the day is fascinating, but not surprising.  Opposition to nuclear power was virtually an article faith of this administration (many members of which, including Tony Blair, were past members of CND) for the first decade of its existence.  By the time it became blindingly obvious that only nuclear could provide the reliable, non-carbon emitting, baseload generation the country needs, it was almost too late.

The consequence is that we will belatedly get our new nuclear power stations, but will also, for the foreseeable future, be heavily reliant on imported gas, the goodwill of Vladimir Putin and the forbearance of the mullahs of Tehran.