"The truth is out about nuclear power" - Fiona Hall

9.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 24th Oct 2007

Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament, Fiona Hall has said that recent revelations that almost half of Britain's nuclear reactors are currently inoperable illustrate the problems and safety issues that beset the industry. Fiona Hall has launched an attack on the current policy of investing billions of tax-payers pounds into building more nuclear power stations for the future despite the short-comings of the energy source.

Fiona Hall's North East constituency includes Hartlepool, where earlier this week reactors that were due to come back online after repairs failed preliminary safety checks.

Commenting on the revelation that half of Britain's nuclear power stations are currently inoperable because of repairs or maintenance, North East Lib Dem MEP Fiona Hall said:

"Now the truth is out. Even though it is a technology which has been around for over 50 years, nuclear power remains problem-prone and unreliable. And it is not just older nuclear power stations that suffer problems - Finland's new nuclear station, which was supposed to be a flagship, has been beset by difficulties and is now massively behind schedule and over budget.

"These problems in the nuclear industry should be a wake up call for the Government. Instead of sinking billions of pounds into last century's nuclear technology, with all its associated problems of radioactive waste and public safety, the UK should be investing in renewable forms of energy which will enable us to meet our energy needs in a clean and sustainable way."