John Hutton, business secretary, has vowed to take on critics of new coal and nuclear power stations, arguing that their construction was vital to securing Britain’s long-term energy needs.

Addressing the Labour Party Conference in Manchester, the business secretary claimed that an international battle for energy security was emerging as one of the most significant threats to both UK competitiveness and national sovereignty.

He said Britain’s growing reliance on imported gas from some of the most unstable parts of the world was unacceptable and called for a renaissance of nuclear power in the UK.

Speaking ahead of the expected announcement of a £12.4 billion takeover of British Energy by EDF on Wednesday, he said he was “determined to press all the buttons to get nuclear built in this country at the earliest opportunity.”

“And because energy security is a first thought, not an afterthought, I will not turn my back on another critical source of energy security for the UK: coal.”

Mr Hutton lambasted opponents of both fuels, including environmental campaigners and the other two main political parties which he said were “posturing” over energy policy.

“Tories say no to new coal and send mixed messages on nuclear; Lib Dems say no to new coal and nuclear. No coal plus no nuclear equals no lights. No power. No future.”

He accepted people had concerns about the contribution new coal-fired power stations would make to climate change but argued that UK emissions were capped by EU legislation and that building new coal plants would make no difference overall.

“Additional emissions will have to be offset by reductions elsewhere. So stopping the building of new coal fired power stations would make no difference to the UK’s total carbon emissions, but I think it would damage our energy security. So there is no sense in our turning our backs on coal. Let’s keep cleaning it up, not ruling it out.”

Mr Hutton’s remarks were condemned by Greenpeace executive director John Sauven who said new coal-fired power stations “cannot be an option because of their colossal contribution to climate change”.

Mr Hutton’s speech came as Westinghouse, the Japanese-owned nuclear reactor maker, published research claiming the UK economy could receive a £30 billion boost from the construction of new stations, including the creation of thousands of skilled engineering jobs.

David Powell, Westinghouse’s UK vice president, said half of the total would come through construction of new sites, a third from operating the plants and the rest from servicing.

Rolls Royce, BAE Systems and Doosan Babcock are among the UK firms already working with Westinghouse on plans for the new reactors.

EDF is finalising details of its £12.4 billion takeover of British Energy. The deal will see the bulk of Britain’s nuclear industry pass into the hands of the French state-controlled utility giant and is likely to be announced on Wednesday.

EDF has lifted its initial offer of 765p a share to 774p, and is also offering an alternative of 700p and CVRs - financial instruments designed to pay out according to the future performance of British Energy’s reactors.

EDF wants to use its acquisition of British Energy to oversee construction of four new nuclear plants in the UK on existing sites, the first by 2017.

Centrica is expected to buy a 25 per cent equity stake in British Energy once the EDF deal has been completed.

Times Recommends

• Minister in talks with Saudis to protect creditors
• Premier Inn hits back in £29-a-room row
• Bankers hit back at 'populist' bonus supertax