The SDLP has criticised the UK government for not providing comprehensive information to the European Commission in relation to the cost of the new nuclear power site at Hinkley.

MP for South Down, Margaret Ritchie, said she was astonished the UK government did not include the cost of waste storage or the decommissioning of the plant in the total cost.

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She said: "The Department of Energy and Climate Change currently pumps almost half of its annual budget into decommissioning Sellafield, yet are happy to ignore this significant economic burden of nuclear energy from their current calculations. This wilful ignorance typifies the UK government's approach to nuclear energy and it is the public who will end up paying for it."

(CD/JP)