Cumbria CC's rejection last week of proposals to store nuclear waste within the county threatens to scupper any long-term answers to decommissioning the Sellafield site, where total lifetime costs now stand £67.5bn - MPs have reported.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee today issued a report warning the cost to the public purse of safely managing hazardous radioactive waste at Sellafield is unclear - despite soaring budgets. Some twelve out of 14 major projects are running behind schedule and five of them are over budget.