Minister denies nuclear 'cover up'

A climate change minister has denied that his department is encouraging the nuclear industry to "lie" about the true effects of a nuclear meltdown in Japan. At DECC questions today Paul Flynn (Lab, Newport West) said leaked emails published in The Guardian show that civil servants are "collaborating with the nuclear industry to lie about the true effects of Fukushima". "Is it true that an official in his department wrote to EDF and the other companies saying: 'We must get in, and we must make sure that the anti-nuclear chaps and chapesses do not fill the space with the truth,'" he asked. Gregory Barker said he has "absolute trust" in his civil servants. "The suggestion that there has been some Fukushima cover-up is absurd nonsense," he told the House. Also at DECC questions, the energy and climate change secretary rejected claims that the UK's domestic gas and electricity prices are higher than in other countries. At departmental questions today Bill Esterson (Lab, Sefton Central) said British consumers pay "some of the highest energy prices in Europe". Chris Huhne said in fact they are among the lowest, but could be brought down further with more competition. "In my experience that is always the best guarantee that the consumer will get the best deal, that's why we want more people coming into the market," he told the House. Shadow energy secretary Meg Hillier said consumers are "rightly confused and angry" after "huge" price increases. She asked what Huhne is going to do "right now to tackle this problem". He said much of the government's agenda - including energy saving and "trying to provide assurance and increase ability to switch and to simplify tariffs" - takes time. Barbara Keeley (Lab, Worsley) said Age UK predicts that rising energy bills will take 250,000 more pensioners into fuel poverty. "Those pensioners are under-heating their homes by rationing their consumption of fuel and thereby increasing their exposure to potential ill health, misery and depression," she told MPs. "What action will the secretary of state take to ensure that gas and electricity prices are fairer, something that the prime minister promised those pensioners?" Huhne said the government has put the warm home discount scheme on a legislative basis and his department is working with DWP "to ensure that we can identify the people who will be most in need". He said the 'green deal', which starts in 2012, "will prioritise those in fuel poverty so that we tackle the root causes of the problem and do not merely seek to apply a sticking plaster".