Starmer to slash red tape to build nuclear reactors
Planning rules will be ripped up to make it easier to build new nuclear reactors and create thousands of highly skilled jobs, the government has announced.
The reforms are the latest in a series of proposals designed to “get Britain building” to help grow the economy, after powers for environmental quangos to delay infrastructure projects were removed.
The UK was the first country in the world to develop a nuclear reactor but the last time a power station was built was in 1995.
Ministers have blamed this on “suffocating” red tape, leaving the UK lagging behind in the global race for cleaner more affordable energy.
Under moves announced today, mini-nuclear power stations known as small modular reactors (SMRs) will be included in the national planning guidance, allowing them to be built in the UK for the first time.
SMRs are considered to be cheaper, quicker to manufacture and safer than conventional nuclear power plants, so industry experts see them as having an important role in efforts to decarbonise.
Other reforms include:
• Scrapping a list which currently limits nuclear development to eight specific sites
• Removing the expiry date on nuclear planning rules so projects don’t get timed out
• Establishing a new Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce to look at further ways to build nuclear plants quicker and cheaper, which will report directly to the prime minister
Unions and business groups have welcomed the announcement, but environmentalists were critical.
The changes come amid long-term struggles to get two existing nuclear projects over the line.
Only one nuclear power plant, Hinkley Point C in Somerset, is under construction in the UK – but its completion date has been delayed by years with the French company developing it blaming this on inflation, labour shortages and Brexit disruption.
The government also pointed to the need for a 30,000-page environmental assessment required to get planning permission, saying in its announcement today that Britain “has been suffocated by regulations”, which is harming investment.
A separate project, Sizewell C in Suffolk, has also been hit by delays and rising costs before a spade has even hit the ground.
By comparison China is constructing 29 reactors, and the EU has 12 at planning stage.
UK ‘let down and left behind’
Starmer during a visit to Hinkley Point nuclear power station. Pic: PA
Sir Keir Starmer said: “This country hasn’t built a nuclear power station in decades. We’ve been let down and left behind.
“I’m putting an end to it – changing the rules to back the builders of this nation, and saying no to the blockers who have who have strangled our chances of cheaper energy, growth and jobs for far too long.”
The announcement builds on a Labour manifesto commitment to “end a decade of dithering” on nuclear power as part of broader plans to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030 – with cheaper bills and better energy security.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said that nuclear power will create “thousands of skilled jobs” and prevent the UK being vulnerable to global energy markets in the future.
“Build, build, build – that is what Britain’s clean energy mission is all about,” he said.
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’20 years’ to deliver GB Energy jobs
Some environmentalist groups dispute nuclear power’s green credentials though, saying that while it doesn’t produce carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases, it isn’t a plausible alternative to renewable energy sources – like wind and solar.
Dr Doug Parr, policy director for Greenpeace UK, said: “The Labour government has swallowed nuclear industry spin whole, seemingly without applying so much as a pinch of critical scrutiny or asking for a sprinkling of evidence.”
Unions were welcoming of the announcement’s potential to create jobs and deliver net zero, but said it should go alongside the complete go-ahead for Sizewall C.
And Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: “This is the prime minister’s strongest signal yet that new nuclear is critical to the growth and clean power mission.
“A more streamlined planning system will give certainty to investors, the supply chain and communities, and will enable us to get on with building new nuclear plants on more sites and at pace for a cleaner, more secure power system.”
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
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Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
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