Plan to cut armed escorts on some UK nuclear waste shipments prompts dirty bomb warnings

Right · 2The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has proposed scaling back mandatory armed escorts by the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) on some nuclear material shipments, in a move it says could save millions of pounds. 1 2 Right · 2Nuclear waste moves across the UK by road, rail and sea, and the most hazardous cargo currently travels with armed CNC escorts. The proposals centre on plutonium and enriched uranium. 1 2 Right · 1The proposals appear in a 57-page document backed by six nuclear industry chief executives, including those running Sellafield and Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS), the state-owned firm that handles material movements. GB News reports it was drawn up after then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves demanded sector savings following a review last year. 1

Right · 2According to the document, the changes could cut the cost of certain shipments by 10 to 20 per cent and remove weeks of security planning. It says escorts could be dropped "where they do not provide a proportionate security benefit", and that the current threat assessment framework was built for fixed sites and is "unrealistic against a maritime setting". 1 2 Right · 2Matt Okuhara, who served with the CNC from 2006 to 2012, told The i Paper, which broke the story, that the plan is "a bad idea" and that the material could be used for a dirty bomb or a poisoning device. 2 1 Right · 2Rob Jordan of the Royal United Services Institute said the threat of hybrid or grey-zone warfare from Russia is particularly high, and that disrupting a convoy could embarrass the government. The Express adds that he does not believe the cuts will necessarily raise the risk level. 1 2

Right · 2A CNC spokesperson said the risk to the civil nuclear sector is at its highest for many years and that it will "match our protection to that threat". The NDA said any changes would be made with government and regulators without compromising safety or security, and NTS says the proposals would cut cost and complexity while keeping security robust. 2 1 Right · 1A government spokesperson, quoted by the Express, did not address the escorts directly, saying the government is delivering a "golden age of nuclear" while maintaining high safety standards. 2 Right · 1The proposals come amid warnings about Russian hybrid activity: GB News cites GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler saying in May that Russia was scaling up such activity against the UK and Europe. 1