Blair to say science critical to Britain's future

London, Nov 3: Prime Minister Tony Blair will stress today that science and technological innovation are crucial to Britain's economic and industrial success.

From tackling climate change to fighting disease, Blair will say the government must continue to make the case for scientific advances and not be deflected by critics.

''Science is crucial to our future. It's been crucial to our history and our health,'' Blair's spokesman said, previewing the speech.

''It's obvious that technological advances and innovations are going to be the key to our future economic and industrial success,'' the spokesman added.

The speech forms part of a series of lectures given by Blair under the banner heading of ''Our Nation's Future''.

Blair will stress the importance of inspiring a new generation of budding scientists and the need to put faith in science to help fight climate change and disease.

Climate change and energy security are high on Blair's agenda for his final year in office and the government believes technology is key to developing renewable energy sources to reduce greenhouse gases.

He will also talk about the valuable lessons learned from bio-technology and scientific research on animals, risking the wrath of animal rights protesters.

Blair has legislated to curb the activities of animal rights extremists who have fought a sometimes violent campaign against using animals to test new medicines.

Blair will also explore in his speech whether Britain is fully exploiting the commercial potential of its inventions and the need to boost links between science and business.

Yesterday, Blair visited a research and development company in Oxfordshire to view a bus that had been converted to run on vegetable oil.

Reuters