Letter: Nuclear relies on foreign knowhow

I AM curious to know what your statement that it is Labour policy to import "expensive and uninsurable nuclear technology from other countries" (News, 3 April) means? Since there are now no UK consortia able to build nuclear power stations, it is inevitable that new plants will be built by foreign companies.

The statement also implies that nuclear plants are too expensive and uninsurable. They are expensive to build but not to run. As for insurance, this is provided by a pool of UK insurers comprising eight insurance companies and 16 Lloyds syndicates. The premiums are paid by the plant operators, and although their liability is restricted to the first 140 million towards any cleanup, there is a proposal to increase that to 1 billion.

Steuart Campbell, Edinburgh