The SDLP has slammed the Government and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) for failing to close and clean-up Sellafield.

The party is also calling for the plans to build a new nuclear build to be abandoned and to concentrate on renewable energies.

SDLP South Down MP Margaret Ritchie said: "The cost of cleaning up toxic nuclear sites has increased, most notably because of the British Government's legacy of mishandling the clean-up of the Sellafield site in Cumbria and its incompetency in handling efforts to decommission its nuclear sites in the coming years.

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"According to latest figures, the cost of the clean-up has increased by £6bn from an estimate of £63bn in 2011-12 to £69bn last year, with yet more increases expected along the way.

"This is clearly down to the British Government's mismanagement of its legacy of toxic waste and plans for decommissioning, not least when it failed to intervene when a private sector consortium gained a lucrative five-year contract tasked with managing Sellafield."

(CD/JP)