In 2001, Wilson briefly served at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with responsibility for Africa. As Energy Minister from 2001 to 2003, he was a strong supporter of both renewable energy—which he had long championed as a journalist—and nuclear power, not least because of his familiarity with Hunterston nuclear power stations in his own constituency. According to one's point of view, he is either credited or blamed for doing more than any other politician to "keep the nuclear option open" through the early years of the Labour government, when many of his colleagues were determined to kill it off once and for all in Britain. As Energy Minister, Wilson always advocated what he termed a "balanced" power generation policy—including nuclear, coal pollution mitigation, natural gas and renewables—which eventually became the catch-phrase of government after his departure. Speaking at the Institution of Civil Engineers in June 2008, he joked if he had remained in politics, he would have been "knocked down in the rush" as his former foes on the nuclear issue—including the likes of Gordon Brown and Margaret Beckett—adopted the same position.