Number 10 has said the current European gas supply crisis "underlines the prime minister's thinking" on developing an EU energy strategy.

Downing Street on Tuesday called for the Russia-Ukraine dispute to be settled "as quickly as possible", though the Russians claim they are moving to boost supplies to European countries that have experienced a drop in pipeline pressure.

And the prime minister's official spokesman said civil servants from the Department of Trade and Industry would be attending a technical meeting with members of the European Commission on Wednesday to discuss the crisis.

The spokesman said the row reinforces what Tony Blair had said at the Hampton Court summit about the importance of planning EU energy supplies in a more co-ordinated way.

The current problem was caused by he Russian giant Gazprom shutting down supplies to the Ukraine which in turn ships the vital energy supplies to the rest of Europe.

Downing Street said UK supplies were not affected "in any substantial way".

The spokesman added: "Clearly we believe that it's in the interests of everybody, not least Russia and the Ukraine, that this matter is resolved as quickly as possible."

The spokesman said Blair had highlighted the potential problems of the security of energy supply at Hampton Court last year.

Blair had urged the EU to "come up with a coherent energy policy".

The spokesman said: "These events have underlined the prime minister's thinking in making that argument.

"Security of supply was one of the reasons both behind what the prime minister said at Hampton Court about Europe, and behind setting up an energy review."

The spokesman denied that the current crisis would necessarily lead to a new programme of building nuclear reactors in the UK.

"Does an energy review knee-jerk to one particular event? No.

"But does it take into account the need for security of supply, diversity of supply, further down the line?

"That's one of the issues that needs to be considered. There is an issue of security of supply, there was already before this event, and clearly this event underlines that issue."

The SNP, meanwhile, said that despite living near major gas fields Scots face rising energy bills.

Energy spokesman Richard Lochhead said: "It is an indication of the government's bungled energy policy that Scots could be hit by gas shortages elsewhere despite gas riches in our own waters.

"Clearly, Scotland is being robbed of our own gas resources and as a result Scots consumers have been exposed to the vagaries of international markets.

"It is absurd that hard pressed consumers could face crippling increases in gas bills is due to Scotland's marginal status within the UK markets."