The chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has addressed hundreds of people at an industry conference.

David Peattie was one of the keynote speakers at the three-day TotalDecom2018 event, where he spoke about decommissioning progress, innovation and cross-sector working.

The flagship annual event, in Manchester, welcomed top representatives from the nuclear, oil and gas, defence, renewable energy and waste sectors.

Mr Peattie talked about the task of managing the energy legacy safely and responsibly, as well as identifying the opportunities and overcoming the challenges of decommissioning.

Highlighting the collaboration between the nuclear and oil and gas sectors, he said: “Technologies developed for use on the NDA’s sites, such as snake-arm robotics, are now being used to solve challenges in the oil and gas sector.

"In return, remotely operated vehicles first used in oil and gas are now being used to clean up hazardous nuclear facilities, such as the legacy ponds at Sellafield.

“The NDA is in the process of joining the trade body Oil and Gas UK and is already working to share learning from our work and establish best practice between oil and gas and nuclear.”

Mr Peattie has 35 years’ experience in the oil and gas sector and oversaw the decommissioning for the Dunlin Alpha Platform.

His role as the head of the NDA now sees him leading the work to decommission and clean up the legacy left from the very earliest days of the UK’s civil nuclear industry.