Copeland MP Trudy Harrison met two senior figures from the company behind Cumbria's proposed £10bn nuclear new build.

She met Tom Samson, the chief executive of Nugen, as well as Alistair Evans, the firm's head of government affairs.

NuGen has plans for a power station at Moorside, near Sellafield.

The executives visited Mrs Harrison to update her on the progress of the company's "strategic review", which was announced earlier this year.

This announcement came following a difficult start to year for Toshiba, which has a 60 per cent stake in NuGen and is set to take full control.

The Japanese giant is forecast to make a £6.5bn loss for the last year of business and has missed a deadline to file its final year accounts in Japan.

It has insisted it remains committed to Moorside - and has also said it wants to sell its stake in the future - but its financial situation has prompted fears over the development's future.

Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) have expressed an interest in the NuGen project and State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC), based in Beijing, are also rumoured to have had talks with NuGen.

Mr Samson told Mrs Harrison he remained committed to delivering the Moorside project and will continue working to achieve that.

Mrs Harrison said: “It was great to meet with Tom Samson in Parliament to discuss moving forward with the nuclear new build. Nuclear is a crucial part of Copeland’s industry and it is so important that we secure this investment.”