Greenpeace exposes flaws in nuclear arguments

The official consultation on nuclear new build was unfair and  “seriously flawed”, the High Court held last week.

In Greenpeace v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, the campaign group challenged the government’s decision in the Energy Review Report 2006: The Energy Challenge, to support nuclear new build as part of the UK’s future energy-generating mix. Greenpeace argued that the government had promised to carry out a full public consultation before it decided to change its declared policy position not to support nuclear build.

Instead, the review process last year was flawed, failing to present proposals and information on key issues, the campaign group said.
Mr Justice Sullivan upheld the group’s arguments, saying the process was manifestly inadequate and unfair, because insufficient and misleading information had been made available by the government for consultees to make an “intelligent response”.

Sarah North, head of Greenpeace’s nuclear campaign, says: “The government’s so-called consultation on nuclear power was obviously a sham. The government completely failed to consult adequately and even kept relevant documents to themselves. They’ve now been forced back to the drawing board.”