Efforts to build a new generation of nuclear power plants are under threat from staff shortages, Whitehall disputes over investment in renewables and how to deal with nuclear waste, according to leaked documents from the government department overseeing the programme.
The problems could mean "any nuclear programme would have to be put on hold from April 2008" - the government's planned start date - according to documents seen by the Financial Times which form a "script" that John Hutton, business secretary, will present to Gordon Brown.
