Interest in building new nuclear power stations in the UK is “strong”, the British Government said today.

A National Nuclear Archive which could hold up to 30 million digital, paper and photographic records is to be established in the UK, it emerged today.

Union leaders in the UK were today seeking talks with the British government over reports that clean-up work at a number of defunct nuclear reactors is to be halted because of funding problems.

Alistair Darling will address the UK's House of Commons today over claims that nuclear workers who died in the 1960s and 70s had body parts removed without their families’ knowledge.

British health and safety inspectors are investigating an incident at a recently closed nuclear power station in Suffolk which led to the escape of 40,000 gallons of radioactive water, it has been revealed.

UK authorities should ensure the Thorp plant at Sellafield remains permanently closed down, it was claimed today as the nuclear operators were fined €743,000 following a radioactive leak.

The company which runs the Sellafield nuclear plant in England has been fined £2m (€2.97m) following a leak at the Thorp plant last year.

The nuclear plant at Sellafield is a real and present danger to life in the post 9/11 climate, the Irish Government said tonight.

THE landmark agreement, ensuring that Britain and Ireland co-operate in the event of a "significant" nuclear incident is, on the face of it, a positive twist in the long-running row between the two governments over the Sellafield threat to this country.

British state-owned nuclear firm BNFL reported wider annual losses of £303m (€459.5m) today after seeing costs increase at operations including Sellafield.

The timescale to finish decommissioning the Dounreay nuclear plant in Scotland has been brought forward by 13 years, its operator announced today.

The Thorp reprocessing plant at Sellafield is to close by 2010, a leading environmental campaign group predicted today.