ENVIRONMENT Secretary Steve Reed has described Tony Blair’s comments on the government’s “doomed” net zero policies as “helpful”.

Asked to address Blair’s criticism, he told GB News: “We all remember, don’t we, the pain of those energy bill price rises just a few years ago, when it shot up through the roof, a lot of businesses were teetering on the brink of going bust.

“A lot of households couldn’t afford their energy bills anymore. That happened because of how dependent we are on fossil fuels, and the price of that is determined by the behaviour of petrochemical dictators like Vladimir Putin. His invasion of Ukraine caused a price spike.

“If we can take back control of our own energy by generating more of it here at home, wind, wave, solar and nuclear, we can guarantee the supplies because we control them, and we can make sure that the prices are maintained at an affordable level, rather than allowing the behaviour of Vladimir Putin to dictate what goes on.

“But as well as that, it creates new jobs in the industrial heartlands of our country, good, secure jobs for the future. So there are so many reasons why we should invest in clean energy and take back control of our energy.”

Asked again to respond to Blair’s criticism that the government’s net zero policies are doomed to failure, he said: “I just explained why we’re doing, what we’re doing. 75% of carbon emissions come from fossil fuels. So, at the same time as dealing with those issues, we’re also taking about control of our own energy so that we control it rather than Vladimir Putin.

“That enhances national security, it grows the economy, and it keeps prices lower for households in the country. I think all of that seems to me a very good thing to do.”

Pressed for a third time on Blair’s net zero comments, Reed said: “He’s saying as well that he wants to see more investment in technology to capture and store carbon. And I agree with what he’s saying there.

“This government has invested, is investing, I should say, £22 billion in that technology. That’s a record. We’ve never invested as a country that much in the technology. And it means, rather than just stopping using fossil fuels, and we all know we’re going to have to keep using them for decades to come, we can capture the carbon that they admit and that they emit and store it.

“It’s a two-pronged approach, if you like. On the one hand, taking control of our energy so we can keep supplies secure and prices down, but on the other, investing in these new carbon capture and storage technologies that mean that we can live with fossil fuels, because we know this transition is going to take some time.”

Asked again about the former Prime Minister’s intervention, he said: “We have to be pragmatic with these things. We have to manage the transition in a way that people and the economy can go along with it.

“I think he’s absolutely right to point that out, but pragmatic is what we’re being, but I don’t want us to be dependent for our energy on Vladimir Putin.

“I want us to take back control of our own [energy], I think most British people would agree with that, and I think we do need to invest more in carbon capture and storage, but that’s why the government’s invested this £22 billion.

“I think it’s helpful that Tony Blair has raised this, actually, because it is a concern that people have in the elections that we’re facing, and it’s good that it gives the opportunity to people to come and have this debate.”