A GOVERNMENT report has raised questions about the safety of staffing levels at Heysham's nuclear power stations.

The authoritative report from the Nuclear Installations

Inspectorate warns that severe reductions in staff levels have jeopardised key operations.

The company operating Heysham 1 and 2, British Energy, has been told to make radical changes or facing losing its Government licence.

The inspectors say the firm cut the number of expert staff before working out the jobs and skills needed to operate safely. The report, marked 'restricted' but obtained and highlighted by the Observer newspaper, states: "Our judgment is that in key safety areas... staff levels are at, and in a limited number of areas, below that required to sustain the work load and discharge the requirements of licensees.'

The watchdog offers 103 recommendations which highlight concerns over crucial operations and British Energy has accepted all of the report's recommendations.

A Greenpeace's spokesman said: "This is a shocking indictment of the state of the British nuclear industry. They are gambling with people's lives. We need an urgent review of how to phase out nuclear power in Britain."

Since its privatisation British Energy, which runs seven other nuclear stations across the country, has made nearly 1,800 job cuts and seen profits rise from £61 million to £298 million.

British Energy spokesman, Bob Fenton, said: "The report has raised a number of key recommendations that we need to take a close look at and are working to resolve at the moment. We unreservedly accept the recommendations. The last thing we want is to run a company that's got the regulator crawling all over it. Being safe is good commercial business."

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