Labour Minister Malcolm Wicks makes prat of himself on Radio Five Live

Malcolm Wicks, Minister for Science and Innovation just made a right prat of himself on Radio Five Live.

Being interviewed by Peter Allen, he was asked if Britain would reach its target, that Tony Blair signed up to, to reduce emissions by 20%. He said it was Europe's target and that we were working towards our share. When asked what our share was, he was unable to answer, reiterating that we would make our contribution. So Peter Allen asked him "Would Britain achieve a 20% reduction - yes or no", his response was, again, that it was Europe's target.

The rest of the interview became sidelined as the interviewer asked repeatedly if Britain would achieve 20% or not, to which Malcolm Wicks refused to give a straight answer. At one point he became particularly condescending when asked why he wouldn't give a simple yes or no answer, he said he was giving an "Intelligent answer".

I suppose it was too much to ask for, as straight answer from a Labour Minister. Still, the interviewer made him look silly, it made the government's commitment to the environment look poor and we got the answer by his refusal to answer. In short, Britain will not achieve the 20% reduction Tony Blair signed up to and instead we are relying on our European allies to make larger cuts in order for Europe to hit its targets.

Update - More background on the story about the UK missin gits 20% target can be found HERE.