Workers want Hinkley delay

EDF’S workers’ committee is expected to demand today that a nuclear power plant at Hinkley, Somerset, is delayed.

The energy firm has yet to make a decision on how to raise £18bn of funds needed for the power station, and has put off deciding until September to allow time to consult the unions.

The unions are obliged to deliver their opinion today on whether Hinkley should go ahead. But three of them issued a statement last week to say that Britain’s vote to leave the European Union added new elements of uncertainty.

It follows a legal action launched earlier this month in French courts by EDF’s Works Council, who asked for the project to be put off.

It is feared that if the unions do not support the project it could further delay Hinkley, which was due to be completed in 2017 but is currently expected to be finished by 2025.