Ending Europe nuclear cooperation could put cancer patients at risk

The UK is preparing a departure from Euratom that will keep disruptions to a “minimum” as the government moves to quell concerns that ending European nuclear cooperation could put cancer patients at risk. The assurances came from Energy Minister Richard Harrington during a debate in Parliament on Wednesday. The transportation of radioactive materials used to diagnose and treat cancer has become grounds for a potential rebellion by Conservatives opposed to Brexit and Prime Minister Theresa May’s hard approach to it. “Our primary aim throughout these will be to maintain our mutually successful civil nuclear cooperation with Euratom and the rest of the world,” Harrington said. “We’re preparing the nuclear safeguards bill, we’re opening negotiations with the EU, we’re talking to third countries about bilateral agreements, and finally of course we’re talking to the International Atomic Energy Agency.” The issue is coming to a head as the government presents the repeal bill that will graft European Union statutes into UK law books and mark the moment when the British are taking control of their legal destiny. Deprived of her majority in last month’s election, the premier relies on party loyalty and the votes of 10 Democratic Unionists from Northern Ireland to pass legislation. The government was to publish three Brexit position papers, including on Euratom, ahead of the bill’s presentation yesterday to the House of Commons. During the debate, at least six Tories spoke out in favour of retaining Euratom membership or of brokering an associate agreement with the body. So while May signalled her intention to pull out of the European Atomic Energy Community back in March, she is now a politically diminished figure vulnerable to pressure. Harrington dodged questions about whether the UK would seek associate membership of Euratom, saying that the government will publish a position paper “imminently.”