The Scottish Government has condemned the UK Government’s recent move to prioritise nuclear power.

In its policy plan, called Powering Up Britain, the UK Government launched the Great British Nuclear (GBN) which will be responsible for driving the delivery of new nuclear projects.

The paper said: “The first priority for GBN is to launch a competitive process to select the best small modular reactor (SMR) technologies.”

In response to the launch of the GBN campaign, the Scottish Government has reiterated its opposition to building new nuclear fission power stations in Scotland.

Cabinet Secretary for Energy Neil Gray said: “The launch of GBN does not change the Scottish Government’s opposition to the building of new nuclear fission power stations in Scotland.

“Given that new nuclear power will take years, if not decades, to become operational, will be expensive, and will generate further radioactive waste, we do not believe it to be a sustainable solution to our net zero energy requirements.”