THE first-ever Budleigh Salterton science festival will be held in the New Year, and the hot topic for debate will be global warming.

THE first-ever Budleigh Salterton science festival will be held in the New Year, and the hot topic for debate will be global warming.

The Climate Change and Global Warming Conference will be held at the Public Hall on February 5 and speakers include a 'prominent' politician, a speaker from the Met Office and one of the BBC's weather forecasters.

The one day conference has been organised by The Budleigh Salterton Festival Trust and offers climate sceptics, climate activists, experts, the public and guest speakers the chance to debate the issues.

The conference marks new ground; an open debate on the science of climate change would have been unlikely even a month ago.

But stolen e-mails from the University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit has blown the debate wide open.

Climate sceptics say the e-mails prove 'a conspiracy' by 'global warming partisans' - while climate activists say that the hackers were selective in what information they have released and was a move by 'flat-earthers' who wanted to scupper the Copenhagen climate talks.

Chairman of the Council of Management Roger Bowen said: "Following the meeting of heads of state in Copenhagen, this is an early opportunity to hear in detail about the hot news topic of our time.

"The timing of this first Science Festival could hardly be bettered; just as the Copenhagen conference reaches its conclusions or fails to do so we have assembled well informed speakers to explain to our Budleigh Salterton audience how they have arrived at their conclusions and to explain how the data is interpreted and comment upon the evidence for the conclusions being drawn.

"The case for and against the effects of global warming, whether man-made or natural phenomenon, will be debated by keynote speakers and well-informed panel members.

"There will be ample opportunity for delegates to question the views of speakers and panel in a public debate."

The conference takes place in the Public Hall on Friday 5 February from 9.30am to 5pm.

The box office will open on 14 December 2009 at 10am for Friends of the Festival and on 16 December at 10am for the general public.

Tickets are �12 for the day, including tea and coffee.

Ends