Griffin rejected from nuclear plant
Wednesday, 4 November 2009 12:00 AM
By Emmeline Saunders
BNP leader Nick Griffin has been refused permission to visit Sellafield nuclear plant over security fears.
Mr Griffin, who sits on the European parliament's environment committee, had expressed interest in visiting the west Cumbrian site as he is pro-nuclear power and against wind farms.
But Sellafield management were worried about possible demonstrations and turned the party leader away, saying his presence could cause "an unnecessary distraction".
A statement from Sellafield Limited said: "He has expressed an interest in various aspects of the site's operations. We have offered to meet Mr Griffin and his team off site to discuss this in full, in accordance with our policy of being open and transparent with all stakeholders."
The site is within Mr Griffin's north west European parliament constituency, and he has claimed the decision prevents him from doing his job as an MEP.
A BNP spokesman said the decision was "politically driven" and "ridiculous".
"To deny permission to Nick Griffin, who has a great interest in sustainable energy, is laughable," he said.
"It shows there is a wider political agenda."
Mr Griffin's claim that he is anti-wind farms comes as a sharp contrast to his manifesto promise that a BNP government would "develop renewable energy sources such as off-shore wind farms, wave, tidal and solar energy".
Sellafield management added: "Safety is our number one value at Sellafield and we were concerned that an on site visit by Mr Griffin and his team could cause an unnecessary distraction, with the potential for this to have a detrimental effect on safety."
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