The sighting of a Russian spy ship near the East Anglian coast has sparked concerns from campaigners about the safety of Suffolk’s Sizewell nuclear plants.

The Admiral Vladimirsky vessel is suspected of stopping at offshore wind farms to map undersea power cables, possibly as part of plans to sabotage the UK’s energy infrastructure.

Alison Downes, from Stop Sizewell C, has called for UK regulators to propose new measures to protect power plants, including Sizewell B, from potential attacks.

Downes cited Russia’s attempts to weaponise the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine and urged regulators to take action.

A Sizewell spokesperson told ELN: “Security is of utmost importance at our nuclear sites and whilst not an area we can discuss in detail local communities can be reassured that the stations are protected against every eventuality.

“EDF places its highest priority on the safety and security of the public, its staff, buildings and installations.

“Whilst we cannot discuss the detail of what security precautions we have in place, we can say security is multi-layered – involving many different security barriers and overseen by our Regulator.

“In order to maintain the highest standards of security, we do not discuss operational details, but like all civil nuclear facilities in the UK, we have detailed security arrangements in place.

“The Civil Nuclear Constabulary, CNC, is deployed at all EDF Energy’s nuclear sites to further enhance the already robust security arrangements at all civil nuclear power stations. These officers work alongside existing security teams at each station.”

A government spokesperson told ELN: “Our priority will always be maintaining our national security.

“We take the safety of current and future systems exceptionally seriously. Our nuclear programmes are subject to regular independent scrutiny and review.”