SCOTLAND'S planning minister yesterday came out personally against new nuclear power stations north of the border.

Malcolm Chisholm said he did not believe the case had been made for new nuclear plants, and it was possible to safeguard the country's energy needs without the technology.

The comments are another shift in Scottish Labour's stance on nuclear power. Tony Blair has said new stations are very much on the agenda south of the border, but in Scotland the party has tacked a different course.

Mr Chisholm, who as communities minister is ultimately in charge of planning in Scotland, yesterday said he was unconvinced of the case for new plants in their own right, regardless of the waste issue.

Speaking on BBC Scotland's Politics Show, he said he thought most Scots wanted to see a future "without nuclear, and I think it can be done".

Pressed on whether he wanted new nuclear plants, he said: "I personally don't think the case has been made for new nuclear power stations in Scotland."

Nuclear plants at Torness and Hunterson produce 40per cent of Scotland's energy, and many Labour MSPs and union leaders want a decision to replace them soon, before they reach the end of their working lives.