Boris Johnson, who seemed to have gone AWOL from the last days of his time as PM, has greenlit funding for a new multibillion-pound nuclear power station.
Whitehall sources confirmed the Prime Minister and Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi have given the go-ahead for financing for the construction of the Sizewell C nuclear reactor in Suffolk.
Private funding will be sought for the project estimated to cost £20-30 billion.
The Government is then set to make a final decision on public investment early next year, with it expected to buy a 20% stake in the plant, costing up to £6 billion.
A Government spokeswoman said: “Nuclear power has a key role to play as we work to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and exposure to volatile global gas prices.
“Negotiations are still ongoing on Sizewell C and as these are active and commercially sensitive discussions we cannot comment further.”
In response, the Stop Sizewell C campaign group said: “Whatever way you look at it, this is a very dodgy decision. Has it been made by a lame duck PM who is not supposed to tie the hands of his successor, or was it in fact made before Sizewell C was granted planning consent, lending serious weight to our conviction that this was a prejudiced, political decision?
“Our next prime minister should call Sizewell C in: there are so many better ways to spend billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money than on a project that won’t light a single lightbulb for at least a decade.”
This decision has been met with concern online:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Fair point?
