Doubts raised over Hinkley Point after Brexit vote

The Hinkley Point nuclear power station project could become a casualty of Brexit, according to reports this morning.

The £18 billion plans to build the new plant in Somerset could be cancelled after Britain voted to leave the EU, a Senior Research Fellow at University College London told the The Times newspaper.

Paul Dorfman said it is "extremely unlikely" that French energy giant EDFwill continue with its plans, in the latest of a series of delays for thedevelopment.

Mr Dorfman told The Times: "How can EDF invest billions when there is so much uncertainty?"

Angus Brendan MacNeil MP, chairman of the Commons energy and climate select committee said Hinkley is "bedevilled by uncertainty".

"Until last week ... EDF was investing in another EU member state. Now that is no longer the case," he told The Times.

The plant was originally set to be completed by 2017 but will not generate power until at least 2025, after issues with funding and French unions.

EDF has insisted Brexit will have no impact and told The Times: "EDF confirms its commitment to the Hinkley Point project, which continues."