Report Shows Nuclear Power Is Just Toxic Waste - MEP

5.47.53pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 20th Jun 2006

Liz Lynne MEP today joined her fellow Liberal Democrats in warning taxpayers that the new generation of nuclear power stations currently under consideration by Labour will end up costing the public billions of pounds in subsidies.

A report released today by the Lib Dem Trade and Industry Department shows that nuclear power facilities worldwide are not cost effective. One example the report highlights is the United States that last year alone had to subsidise nuclear power to the tune of $13.7 billion.

Commenting from the European Parliament in Brussels Liz Lynne said:

"This report confirms what we already know about nuclear power. Not only does it pose an unsafe environmental risk, but it is also economically wasteful."

The Government has pre-empted the findings of its own energy review and have caved in to the nuclear lobby. As this report shows, the benefits do not outweigh the costs."

"We are paying over £1,500 per person in the UK to clean up the nuclear waste that we have already produced over the last 50 years and this bill is continually growing. We can waste billions of pounds trying to meet our energy demands through risky technologies such as nuclear fission, or we can invest that money into renewable energy sources and reducing our energy demands in the first place."

"The real challenge for environmental policymakers is to increase the use of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and wave while we implement energy efficiency and reduction strategies."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Attached - Lib Dem Nuclear Tax Bombshell Report, also available at http://www.libdems.org.uk/media/documents/policies/Nuclear-tax-bombshell.pdf