Campaigners warn Welsh island could be target for nuclear attack

Campaigners have warned plans for the UK's first small modular reactor power station on Anglesey could make it a target for attack.

The anti-nuclear campaign group PAWB (People Against Wylfa B) said there would be "no safe evacuation" from the island in an attack or nuclear accident.

The group raised its concerns in an open letter to the Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Miatta Fahnbulleh MP.

A spokesperson for the department said the UK adhered "to the highest standards of safety and security at our nuclear sites", while the site developers said they looked forward to discussing plans with residents.

The proposed build site, which was selected by the UK government in April, is next to Anglesey's decommissioned Wylfa nuclear power station.

PAWB was established in 1988 to oppose a second nuclear power plant being built at Wylfa.

In their letter, the campaigners said: "Increasing threats of war mean that we will be targets for attack. Russia and Iran have both threatened us due to our interventions in Ukraine and the use of British bases for the bombing of Iran."

They asked how people would get off the island in the event of an attack or nuclear accident, noting there are two bridges connecting the island to mainland Wales.

"RAF Valley is also on the island, making us a further target," they added.

They also raised concerns about nuclear waste, which they said would "remain on-site for at least 100 years, being too hot to remove".

"Our future generations will be responsible for this; not a legacy we want to bequeath," they said.

The campaigners urged the minister to reconsider and instead concentrate resources on "upgrading the grid" and using renewable energy sources.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the UK adhered to the highest standards of safety and security at our nuclear sites, which are heavily protected and overseen by independent regulators".

They said that Gwyndod, the official name of the proposed station, would "power the equivalent of three million homes, create thousands of good skilled jobs on site and drive economic growth in the region".

More than £2.5bn has been committed to the project, which is expected to create 8,000 jobs across the UK, including 3,000 in north Wales.

A spokesperson for Great British Energy-Nuclear (GBE-N), which is leading the project with Rolls-Royce SMR, said safety, security and environmental protection was "fundamental to the nuclear industry" and would be "at the heart of Gwyndod Power Station throughout its construction, operation and decommissioning".

They added that the project recognised that "the people of Ynys Môn will have questions about our plans, and we look forward to discussing them openly and constructively with our neighbours".

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