Chinese Nuclear Junk

Letter sent to The Morning Star newspaper: Most of Carlos Martinez's article "We must work to prevent a potentially disastrous new cold war," 24 September) made much sense. But I take issue with his assertion that the rise of China poses "no threat whatsoever to ordinary people of the West." It does, in a particular way. China General Nuclear Corporation, owned by the Chinese-State, wants to build a giant 25 billion pound nuclear power plant at Bradwell, on the Blackwater Estuary, in Essex, around 70 miles for central London as the crow flies. Beijing wants to go into a perverse political partnership with this terrible Tory Government, against popular wishes. Already, local councils have voted against the project. Tony Benn, who was in charge of nuclear power in the UK in the mid 1970s as Labour Energy Secretary - and who was initially a big atomic enthusiast, until he recognized just how many lies the industry told him about safety and discovered UK "civilian" plutonium being diverted to military misuse, after being exported to the US - had a family home near to Bradwell. Had he been alive today, I am sure Tony would have led the local fight against this nuclear monstrosity being foisted onto a rural community, bringing avoidable dangers into its midst. A local campaign, Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group (BANNG) has been set up, and has exposed how if this massive atomic white elephant were ever built at the tipoff the estuary, it would end up being submerged as the North Sea level rises during the next century, submerging the reactor and all the radioactive waste stored on the vast site. The Morning Star should not n be giving support to this reckless, regressive project