BNFL PLUTONIUM ACCOUNTANCY

That this House notes that in written Parliamentary replies (29th January 2007, Official Report, column 122W and 6th February 2007, column 903W, respectively) to questions tabled by the hon. Member for Lewes, in respect of the Written Ministerial Statement on United Kingdom civil plutonium and uranium stockpile figures (10th January 2007, Official Report, columns 14-15WS), which had admitted that the distribution within the total plutonium stocks of 139,000 kilogrammes `between the various categories has been adjusted following the detection of a clerical error in the original data', the Minister for Science and Innovation at the Department for Trade and Industry revealed that forthwith the British Nuclear Group Sellafield Limited (BNGSL), the operator of the Sellafield plant concerned, `will introduce its enhanced checking procedures as declared'; further notes with alarm that he added `the data compiled will be checked and verified by separate BNGSL personnel who are not involved in, or influenced by, the compilation activities'; recalls that the corporate predecessor of BNGSL, British Nuclear Fuels Limited, was involved in a major scandal in 1999 concerning the falsification of quality control data covering plutonium-based MOX fuel made by BNFL for its main Japanese customer, the Kansai Electric Company, which cost the British taxpayer at least £100,000,000 in compensation paid to Kansai EC; believes that allowing BNGSL to police its own plutonium accountancy is akin to putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop; and calls upon the Government to reverse this incredible decision over BNGLS plutonium, which remains state-owned.