Judge slams UK government on nuclear power policy

LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) A top British judge accused the government of failing to carry out proper consultation over proposed new nuclear power plants and handed environmental group Greenpeace a legal victory today.

High Court judge Jeremy Sullivan allowed a challenge by Greenpeace, whose lawyers had asked him earlier this month to quash the government's decision, in its energy review published last July, to support new nuclear construction.

Greenpeace said the consultation process had been ''fatally flawed'' and had asked the judge to order a new one.

Agreeing with the environmental campaign group, Sullivan said the process had been ''clearly and radically wrong.'' He said the purpose of a January 2006 consultation document had been to promote the ''fullest consultation'' but continued: ''It was manifestly inadequate.'' ''The 2006 consultation document contained no information of any substance on any of the issues identified as being of crucial importance,'' Sullivan said. ''It was not merely inadequate but it was also misleading.'' He said that elementary fairness required that those consulted should have been given a proper opportunity to respond to substantial new material that was produced later.

''The application for a quashing order therefore succeeds,'' Sullivan added.

Greenpeace had accused the Government of going back on its promise to carry out ''the fullest public consultation'' ahead of making any such decision.

Greenpeace lawyer Nigel Pleming argued during the hearing that the promise of full consultation on nuclear power was issued in the 2003 Energy White Paper But he said in the January 2006 document, Our Energy Challenge, nuclear power was insufficiently addressed.

Fundamental issues including the need for nuclear power, its cost and disposal, and the storage of nuclear waste were not subject to consultation, Pleming said.

He said Greenpeace and other interested parties were not given a chance to comment on key documents that the Government relied on.

The Department for Trade and Industry, which ran the consultation, had no immediate comment on the judgement.

REUTERS SP RK1655