West Country Politics

A project to build a line of pylons to connect the proposed nuclear power station at Hinkley Point with Avonmouth could be put on hold, if the plant does not get approved next month.

• Read: Hinkley C decision delayed

The group tasked with delivering the Hinkley Point C nuclear reactors project has launched a scathing attack on the government for delaying the project.

Tim Jones from the Hinkley Strategic Delivery Forum said he was shocked and angry after the government chose to delay signing a deal to build the UK's first nuclear power station for a generation despite energy firm EDF confirming it would go ahead with the project.

Mr Jones said:

The government's decision to delay the go-ahead for a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point has been welcomed by Greenpeace, who said the project could be a "monumental disaster".

Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Kate Blagojevic said: "We really welcome the government's decision to press pause because we believe this project could be a monumental disaster for tax payers and for bill payers. It's so expensive.

"The government has negotiated a really sweet deal for EDF and its Chinese partners but it's not a good deal for us - people who are paying the bills.

"We believe that the government should be investing all of its efforts into the cutting edge technology that we're getting left behind on while the rest of the world is forging a path towards renewable energy powering all of the countries involved."

• May's Hinkley Point delay 'bewildering and bonkers'
• Joel Hills on Theresa May's decision to delay nuclear power station

The decision to delay the go-ahead to build a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point shows the government is in "absolute chaos", the Shadow Energy Secretary Barry Gardiner has said.

Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Mr Gardiner said: "Originally it was supposed to be that the bill-payer would pay £6 billion over the lifetime of the project but the national audit office has now said that will be £30 billion - so five times what was originally predicated here.

"The message it sends out to investors is that the British Government just doesn't know what it is doing when it comes to major infrastructure projects."