Commenting on the Government decision today to give planning permission to a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley, Friends of the Earth’s Policy and Campaigns Director Craig Bennett said:

“The Alice-in-Wonderland economics of the nuclear industry killed off previous plans for a new reactor at Hinkley – decades later, little has changed.

“The only way this plant will be built is if the Government hands over a blank cheque from UK taxpayers to French developers, EDF.

“The most cost-effective way to cut carbon and keep the lights on is a combination of energy efficiency and investing in renewables, the cost of which are falling year on year.

“For decades nuclear industry has over-promised and under-delivered – we can’t afford to keep throwing money at it.”

ENDS