SDLP MP for South Down Margaret Ritchie has said that recent answers to her parliamentary questions from the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change show the folly of the UK's future nuclear programme.

Speaking after studying the answers to her questions Ms Ritchie said: "These figures reveal the true legacy of the nuclear industry, and suggest that it would be madness to expose another generation of taxpayers to this toxic legacy.

"The answers from the Department of Energy and Climate Change reveal yet another increase in the expected cost of decommissioning which now stands at £3bn a year, representing over half of the Department’s total budget and puts the total cost at a staggering £36.6billion.

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"Furthermore the UK government have recognised that the recent National Audit Office report details the severe challenges facing the project and the admission that thus far 'performance of some of the major projects at Sellafield has been poor' comes as no surprise. I await the government’s full response to this report and will be seeking assurances that they fully address all safety concerns that are identified.

"We need to move away from the nuclear legacy toward a truly sustainable and truly renewable energy future. The recent Energy Bill provided just such an opportunity but instead the Government passed up the chance to include a binding 2030 decarbonisation target and left the door open to another round of nuclear subsidies."

(CD)