Sellafield security under scrutiny

Published on Friday 19 March 2010 21:51

EXPERTS from the world nuclear watchdog are to inspect security arrangements at Sellafield for the first time as part of a worldwide drive to stop the spread of fissile materials, Gordon Brown announced yesterday.

The Prime Minister said Britain would also launch a "centre of nuclear excellence" to lead an effort "to secure the safe global expansion of civil nuclear power".

But he played down the prospect of Britain and France sharing submarine patrols. UK-French defence co-operation has developed over the past decade, but both countries will retain their independent nuclear deterrents, Mr Brown said.

French officials were reported as saying discussions had taken place on the possibility of sharing the burden of maintaining a "continuous at-sea deterrence" by running at least one nuclear-armed sub at any one time.

But Mr Brown, who met French president Nicolas Sarkozy in Downing Street last week, said: "We have agreed a degree of co-operation that is, I think, greater than we have had previously but we will retain, as will France, our independent nuclear deterrent.

"In a world that is so insecure, particularly with other countries trying to acquire nuclear weapons, we do not see the case for us withdrawing the independent nuclear deterrent that we have."