BNP leader Nick Griffin blocked from visiting Sellafield (From The Westmorland Gazette)

BNP leader Nick Griffin blocked from visiting Sellafield

5:50pm Wednesday 4th November 2009 in

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SELLAFIELD has refused permission for BNP leader Nick Griffin to visit the west Cumbrian nuclear site.

The North West MEP sits on the European Parliament’s environment committee and said he wants to visit the site because he is pro-nuclear power and against wind farms.

Expressing concerns about security and possible demonstrations, Sellafield bosses said they had offered to meet Mr Griffin and his team off site for discussions.

A Sellafield Ltd spokesman said: “Safety is our number one value at Sellafield and we were concerned that an on-site visit by Mr Griffin and his team could cause an unnecessary distraction, with the potential for this to have a detrimental effect on safety.”

BNP spokesman Simon Darby said: ”This is a politically correct decision which is going to set a precedent."

Mr Darby rejected an offer to hold talks away from the plant: "If Nick wanted that he could have invited them to Brussels.

"You have to be there to understand the scale and complexities of the operation.”

The far-right party is now looking at “legal avenues” to see if an on-site meeting could still go ahead, he added.