On behalf 15,000 scientists, engineers and professional staff in the nuclear industry, Prospect National Secretary Mike Graham said:

"We expect the NDA to announce in a revised business plan that funding may be reallocated from the Magnox sites to Sellafield, leaving the decommissioning programme in tatters.

"Any change to the agreed strategy and the funding allocated on that basis will have a devastating effect. Many businesses have already begun to put the staff in place needed for those commercial decommissioning contracts. I

"f this clean-up work is suspended the supply chain of contractors and other local stakeholders will lose confidence in the industry including, any potential new build."

Graham also warned reallocating funding would damage the national skills base. "On the one hand you have serious commitments, such as the National Skills Academy for Nuclear, to build a skills base for the future, while on the other funding u-turns will lead to the loss of hundreds of highly skilled jobs as decommissioning work is put on ice for another 10 years."

The union is seeking urgent talks with government over the UK’s civil nuclear decommissioning strategy.