Asked by the Financial Times whether the government wanted to increase the share of Britain's energy that came from nuclear power, John Hutton replied: "That's the ambition we should have ... I'd be very disappointed if it's not significantly above the current level."

At present, approximately 19 percent of Britain's energy is from nuclear power stations, the FT said.

"We need the maximum contribution from nuclear sources in the next 10 to 15 years," Hutton told the business daily.

"If we can accelerate the timescale, we should.

"We've got to be completely serious about this ... we should keep our foot down on the pedal."

On interest from private investors in new nuclear power stations, Hutton said: "We're in exactly the right place, I've been very encouraged by the reaction (from investors).

"It's completely confounded all those people who said 'it's not going to happen' -- it's going to happen and in a shorter timescale than our critics predicted."

He also suggested that the government would reach a decision "in the next few years" over whether or not it would sell its stake in British Energy.

The government approved a new generation of nuclear power stations in January. The new stations are expected to be built by private companies without public subsidy to ensure future security of supplies and a balanced energy "mix", amid global concern over long-term oil and gas provision and cost.

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