Rolls mulls Italy nuclear tests

ROLLS-ROYCE is being urged to carry out nuclear testing in the UK after it emerged that the company was considering using a site in northern Italy.

The engineering giant has shortlisted the SIET institute in Piacenza for testing work as part of its plan to build small nuclear reactors.

Domestic options for the tests include a proposed site on Anglesey, north Wales.

MPs and unions have spoken out since The Mail on Sunday revealed last week that some of the work could take place in Piacenza. Mike

Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect trade union, said: ‘To justify taking these jobs offshore there should be a high bar and proof that there is not sufficient capacity or time to do the work indigenously.

‘You would hope that it is not just about cost. In the current climate any major UK corporate should be asking questions about what would look like offshoring.’

The Conservative MP for Anglesey, Virginia Crosbie – a nuclear advocate known as the ‘Atomic Kitten’ – hopes to persuade the Government to fund a thermal hydraulic testing facility on the island.

She said: ‘We should absolutely see this work done here. It is clearly in our national interest.’

A Rolls-Royce spokesman said: ‘We have committed to source 80 per cent of this project by value in the UK and the priority for this business is to maximise UK content.’

Rolls estimates the project could create 34,000 jobs by the mid-2030s.