The Government has been accused of “scandalous collusion” with the nuclear industry after officials conferred with nuclear companies to play down the risks of nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
E-mails show that civil servants approached EDF Energy, Areva and Westinghouse two days after the earthquake to stop bad publicity affecting plans for new nuclear stations in Britain.
One official at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that it was vital not to let campaigners exploit the disaster, which was as serious as Chernobyl in 1986. “We really need to show the safety of nuclear,” the official said. “We need to quash any stories comparing this to Chernobyl by using the facts to discredit it.”
Louise Hutchins, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace, said: “This highlights the Government’s blind obsession with nuclear power and shows neither they, nor the industry, can be trusted when it comes to nuclear.”
She said that the e-mails, obtained by The Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act, seemed to reveal “scandalous collusion”.
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Zac Goldsmith, a Tory MP on the Commons Environmental Audit Committee, told The Guardian: “The Government has no business doing PR for the industry and it would be appalling if its departments have played down the impact of Fukushima.”
A Government spokesman said: “Given the unprecedented events unfolding in Japan it was appropriate to share information with key stakeholders. The Government was very clear from the outset that it was important not rush to judgment and that a response should be based on hard evidence.”