Carl Barat says The Libertines won't reform until at least 2011 as he's too busy working on his solo album.

His former band mate, Pete Doherty, had previously stated that the Libertines would get back together for the 2010 festivals, but in the light of Barat's comments that now seems highly unlikely.

Speaking to BBC6music's Damian Jones, the 31-year-old said of the much-anticipated reunion: "I'm too busy next year to reform The Libertines, maybe we'll do it the year after that, we'll see how it goes.

“It's more a way of life to me than a band so I'm not just going to jump up there and play the songs for some money. If it feels right then it'll fall into place."

Reiterating that his solo work is now top priority, Barat continued: "It is quite liberating doing my own solo thing with no record company telling me to make singles.

"I've done a lot of stuff with strings and acoustics but I don’t know if that's how the record is going to sound."

(by Scott Colothan)