Government 'to hand millions to nuclear firms'

Greenpeace said the plans went against assurances given by ministers that the nuclear industry would not receive any handouts to help build new nuclear power stations.

A study commissioned by Greenpeace claimed that firms would not be liable for dealing with the waste from new reactors, leaving the taxpayer with bills running into billions of pounds.

The report, written by Royal Institute of International Affairs associate fellow Ian Jackson, said that dealing with waste from each new reactor will cost around £1.5 billion, but under current plans being considered by the government energy companies would "walk away" having contributed as little as £500 million.

Greenpeace senior energy campaigner Ben Ayliffe said: "The government has said there will be no public money for new nuclear power, but the unique financial model developed for this report reveals that billions of pounds of public money could be spent to subsidise the nuclear industry, even though the government is warning of painful cuts ahead for the country in key areas like education and health."