Coalville MP Andrew Bridgen has suggested that the Government should use nuclear energy to tackle energy shortages in an interview with the BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning (Saturday),

The MP for North West Leicestershire suggested that a short term price cap on energy used by energy-intensive industries could be useful, reports Politics.co.uk.

He said: "I would like to see Government support for these industries in the short term to make sure that we don't lose them from the UK, and we don't' deter further investment.

"So I think they would like to see a cap on the prices they are going to pay for gas".

He then went on to suggest that nuclear energy could be a long-term solution to the UK's path toward sustainable energy, adding: "What we need is a sustainable long term energy plan, and to be sustainable, carbon zero, and giving us sufficient energy, that plan must include nuclear.

"And in particular, I would like to see small modular nuclear plants given approval by the Government".

Currently around a fifth of the UK's electricity is generated from nuclear power, with the UK currently possessing 13 active nuclear reactors across six separate plants.