as the Holyrood government – which is opposed to nuclear energy – dismissed new plans to install eight reactors at existing sites as “risky and expensive”.

The Scottish government’s energy secretary Michael Matheson told BBC Radio Scotland this morning:

Not only is there environmental risk associated with that, but there is also the issue that this is likely to drive up the cost of household bills – whereas renewables such as wind and marine tidal in the future would actually reduce the cost of electricity.

I think the UK government might have allowed themselves to be wrapped up in the nuclear lobby here.

His UK counterpart Kwasi Kwarteng said there were “no plans to impose nuclear reactors in Scotland” in future.

The UK government plans also proposed a new licensing round for oil and gas projects in the North Sea – but Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has previously said that ramping up North Sea oil and gas is not a short-term solution to Europe’s reliance on Russian supplies.

Vladimir Putin “will be happiest” with the plan, according to one expert, amid a growing backlash. Strategy specialists, researchers, fuel destitution gatherings, and campaigners have all chosen energy proficiency as the “missing piece” of the plans, with many highlighting the reality the least expensive, greenest type of energy is what is right now squandered.

A new strategy targets the building of one nuclear reactor a year as ministers look to reduce dependence on power sources “exposed to volatile international prices we cannot control”. Boris Johnson says the strategy will lead to “greater energy self-sufficiency with cheaper bills”.