Government to back new generation of nuclear plants

The government is set to rubber stamp the construction of a new generation of nuclear power plants tomorrow after an official safety report backed the proposals.

Following Japan’s Fukushima reactor disaster in March, the government commissioned chief nuclear safety inspector Mike Weightman to produce a report on the lessons for the UK.

The final report, due to be released tomorrow by energy secretary Chris Huhne, is understood to make only minor amendments to an interim report that drew distinctions between British and Japanese nuclear technology and said the chances of a similar natural disaster in this country were minimal.

But these conclusions - and the government efforts to reinvigorate the nuclear new build programme - are fiercely opposed by the green lobby, which has been infuriated by the preparatory work carried out at Hinkley Point in Somerset by Bam Nuttall and Kier on behalf of the French-owned EDF.

Greenpeace argues that the Weightman report “pre-empted” the lessons of Fukushima, arguing that lessons can only be learnt a year or 18 months after the incident.