Lord Lawson Urges Government To Ignore EU Regulation If Energy Security Is At Risk

The former chancellor Lord Lawson has urged the Government to keep Britain's coal-fired power stations working for as long as was needed to avoid any short-term power shortages. In a House of Lords debate on energy policy and electricity generation Lord Lawson also called on ministers to give "every encouragement  it can" to the quickest possible development of shale gas supplies.Lord Lawson urged energy and climate change minister Baroness Verma to assure the House that "if the need arises our coal-fired power stations will be kept open as long as is necessary, regardless of the European combustion plants directive".He added: "The Government needs to give every encouragement it can to the fastest possible development of our indigenous supplies of shale gas, which is clearly the fuel of choice for power stations in the foreseeable future."