Gordon Brown raises hopes of Sellafield jobs boost

Hopes for hundreds of new jobs at Sellafield have been raised after Gordon Brown announced plans for the safe growth of nuclear energy worldwide

The Prime Minister's blueprint for dealing with global nuclear challenges – from dismantling nuclear warheads to helping other countries access civil nuclear power – places Sellafield and its workforce in a unique position.

Under these plans, the UK nuclear industry will be at the forefront of all industrial and policy efforts to police, monitor and control nuclear materials around the world.

As of yesterday, the UK will help any country which wants to secure stocks of vulnerable nuclear material – opening the door for a huge amount of new work to be undertaken at Sellafield in the potential shape of reprocessing and fuel manufacturing contracts.

Copeland MP Jamie Reed said: “This won't be a quick process but we are now on the right track.

“There is a lot of work still to be done but Government has listened to where we need to be, it has listened to the voices of the Sellafield trade unions and it is now advocating an unprecedented future to the UK nuclear industry and by definition and in particular, Sellafield.”

Under these proposals nuclear materials from missile warheads from around the world could be sent to Sellafield and turned into nuclear fuel.

The scientific and technical expertise at Sellafield could be used to help international efforts to stop and reduce the spread of nuclear weapons.

Mr Reed added: “We aren’t there yet, but this is the single most important indication yet that the Sellafield site and the workforce will be needed to undertake new reprocessing and fuel manufacture missions in the future.”

Article by Anika Bourley Parliamentary Correspondent as reported in "News & Star" 18 July 2009