The new Energy Minister has underlined the Government's commitment to nuclear energy, boosting hopes of a new power plant in west Cumbria.

Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe was making her first visit to Sellafield following her appointment as Energy Minister in July.

One of the first actions of Theresa May's new administration was to delay a decision on a nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

The surprise announcement cast doubt on NuGen's plans to build three nuclear reactors at Moorside, Sellafield.

But Baroness Neville-Rolfe made it clear that the Government remains committed to nuclear in principle, whatever reservations there may be about the Hinkley Point project.

Speaking after the Sellafield visit, she said: “The Government is very much committed to nuclear as part of the energy portfolio.

“We made that very clear in our manifesto and we stressed it when we said we'd take more time over Hinkley Point.

“Nuclear energy is clean and it doesn't have the problems around discontinuity of supply that you see with wind power for example.

“Nuclear power plants are costly to build but they last for 60 years.”

The Government's concerns with Hinkley Point are understood to centre on the high price of the electricity it would generate, and Chinese involvement in the project.

There is no Chinese investment in Moorside.

And NuGen chief executive Tom Samson told our sister publication, in-Cumbria, that it hopes to agree a lower strike price for its electricity than that agreed at Hinkley Point.

NuGen is due to decide in 2018 if Moorside will go ahead.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe saw first-hand the progress being made in the decommissioning programme at Sellafield.

She was joined on the tour of Sellafield by David Gauke MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

They saw three of the four major historic waste facilities prioritised for clean-up by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe said: "I am hugely impressed with the dedication and professionalism of Sellafield’s world-class workforce, who are dealing with some of the most complex technical challenges in the world.

“Most importantly, they are carrying out their work in the safest possible way, with the protection of the community as their overriding priority.”

The pair were accompanied by Pete Lutwyche, chief operating officer at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, its chairman Stephen Henwood and Sellafield Ltd managing director Paul Foster.