The UK and France have pledged to work together on civil nuclear decommissioning and climate change.

Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark with with French minister earlier this month and committed to working more closely on research and innovation across various sectors including artificial intelligence and space.

Mr Clark highlighted the importance of sharing knowledge and resources in order to meet the two nations’ shared economic and environmental challenges.

It will include deeper collaboration between UK Catapults and French Instituts Carnot, identifying potential areas on smart energy innovation.

Mr Clark said: “France is the UK’s third largest trading partner and we want to take advantage of all possible opportunities as we move towards our highly productive, low carbon economies of the future.”

EDF recently claimed it could build a second new nuclear power station in the UK a fifth cheaper than the cost of the £20 billion Hinkley Point C project.