SCOTLAND’S energy minister has rebuffed the Prime Minister’s criticism of Nicola Sturgeon’s stance on nuclear power.

In her speech to the Conservative party conference, Liz Truss branded the First Minister an “enemy of enterprise” as part of an “anti-growth coalition”.

She told delegates: “Keir Starmer wants to put extra taxes on the companies we need to invest in our energy security. And his sticking plaster solution will only last six months. He has no long-term plan and no vision for Britain.

“Mark Drakeford in Wales is cancelling road-building projects and refusing to build the M4 relief road.

“Nicola Sturgeon won’t build new nuclear power stations in Scotland to solve the energy crisis in Scotland.

“Have these people ever seen a tax rise they don’t like? Or an industry they don’t want to control? They don’t understand the British people. They don’t understand aspiration. They are prepared to leave our towns and cities facing decline.”

Michael Matheson rejected the claim that Scotland needed new nuclear power.

Taking to Twitter, the SNP Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport said: “Scotland is a net exporter of energy to the rest of the UK and we have massive renewable potential that will power Scotland and beyond in the years to come. 

“We don't need expensive nuclear energy and all of the environmental risks that go with it.”

The Hunterston B nuclear plant in North Ayrshire ceased production in January, leaving the EDF-run Torness site in East Lothian as the only remaining nuclear power site in Scotland. 

It is due to close in 2028.

While energy is largely reserved to the UK Government, the Scottish Government effectively has a veto on new nuclear power developments through planning regulations.

There is zero appetite among the SNP or their Green coalition partners to change that position.

The two governments have long disagreed over the need for new nuclear. It is a row that has only been intensified by the war in Ukraine and the impact on wholesale gas prices. 

In April, Boris Johnston’s announced plans to deliver as many as eight new reactors over the next eight years. 

The UK Government said it would bolster Britain’s future energy independence, create high-quality jobs and drive economic growth, all while being low carbon and requiring only a small land area.

However, ministers in Edinburgh have long said new nuclear will take decades and be prohibitively expensive.

They believe significant growth in renewables storage, hydrogen and carbon capture "provides the best pathway to net zero by 2045 and will deliver the decarbonisation we need to see across industry, heat and transport.”