Sellafied on agenda in Britain-Irish talks

The Sellafield nuclear waste reprocessing plant - which exposed major differences at the British-Irish Council on Friday- will…

The Sellafield nuclear waste reprocessing plant - which exposed major differences at the British-Irish Council on Friday- will again be on the agenda at a conference involving Irish and British officials this week.

The Cumbrian complex, which lies just 70 miles from Dublin, is on the agenda for a session of the British-Irish Inter-parliamentary Body (BII), which begins in Bournemouth tomorrow.

The Taoiseach Mr Ahern and British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair failed to agree when the issue was discussed at the bi-lateral talks in Dublin Castle on Friday.

The Government has pledged to continue the fight to force the closure of Sellafield, and halt the scheduled commissioning of the plant's new mixed-oxide (MOX) facility there.

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The fight to close Sellafield was stepped up due to fears of a terrorist strike following the September 11th US attacks and subsequent contamination threats.

The BII, which features 25 members from each of the governments, was founded in 1990 to foster better relations between politicians from the two countries.

The highlight of the Bournemouth meeting will be an address by Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid tomorrow, who will also face a question-and-answer session.

The questions also include Sellafield, as well as the contentious Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974.

Dr Reid has a meeting scheduled soon with the judge heading an investigation into the incidents, Mr Justice Henry Barron.

PA