I pushed Blair's nuclear button

He was horrified by the ignorance of science shown by mandarins across Whitehall and says Tony Blair did not understand climate change.

It was not the kind of outburst Professor Sir David King had expected when he became chief scientific adviser to the government. But he was, after all, dealing with John “Punchy” Prescott.

It was 2003 and Prescott thought he and the other ministers overseeing a new energy white paper had finally reached agreement to rule out nuclear options and instead to recommend concentration on renewables and energy efficiency. “That was when I put my hand up,” King said last week, “and told him I still did not believe we could cut CO2 without nuclear power. Nor would I pretend I had changed my mind.”

King claimed that what happened next was shocking. Prescott “went ballistic”, shouting about collective responsibility and thumping the table. “I wondered if I was going to get punched,” King recalled.