31 August 2004: for immediate use
Campaigners expressed shock and anger at revelations that official government policy on nuclear waste was being ignored in favour of a dangerous and dishonest policy of turning Britain into the world’s nuclear dumping ground. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament called for end to the UK’s ‘nuclear shame.’
CND demands an end to the dangerous practice of burying foreign nuclear waste on UK soil for the sake of a quick buck and at the expense of future generations. They called for government transparency and for a proper waste management programme.
Kate Hudson, Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
“The nightmare that is the clear up operation for the UK’s own nuclear power programme is bad enough. It would now seem that our government is willing to turn the UK into the dumping ground for the rest of the world. This is a disastrous policy, storing up a lethal harvest that will blight our country for generations to come. This is a particularly horrifying revelation as it comes at a time when the government is also planning to make new developments in the field of nuclear weapons. It is now clear that the government cannot be trusted on any aspect of the nuclear issue – whether civil or military.
Nuclear power has a potentially devastating impact in all its forms and the civil and military nuclear programmes are closely entwined. Now is the time to end all forms of nuclear proliferation – whether of nuclear arms or of nuclear waste. It is shameful that our government’s hypocrisy on nuclear weapons is now matched by dishonesty on nuclear waste.”
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Notes to Editor:
For further information please contact Ruth Tanner CND’s Press & Communications Officer on 0207 7002350 or 07968 420859