Top staff at nuclear energy giant Electricite de France (EDF) have been charged on suspicion of spying on Greenpeace.

Two security chiefs at the French government-owned company are accused of conspiring to hack into Greenpeace computer systems in France. Three others have also been charged, including a computer expert and the head of a private investigation firm. The computer expert has already admitted the charge.

The head of Greenpeace UK is today seeking assurances that EDF, who are the front-runners to build new nuclear reactors in Britain, have not been spying on staff at Greenpeace's London offices.

EDF confirmed yesterday that authorities had searched their premises and an investigation had been opened for "fraudulent intrusion into computer systems".

EDF have recently bought British Energy, owners of almost all of the UK's nuclear power sites, and have an intense interest in shifting the nuclear debate in Britain.

John Sauven, head of Greenpeace UK, said: "We want to know if EDF have been spying on us.

"Their staff are already facing spying charges in France, and they've got a very obvious stake in the future of nuclear power in the UK.

"We back cutting-edge renewable energy projects, while EDF openly admit that such schemes would scupper their nuclear plans.

"So it's now very much up to EDF to say if they've been using underhand tactics in this country."

The spying revelations have already caused a furore in France, with national media covering the story widely. In 1985 the French government accepted responsibility for the bombing of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, in which one crew member died.

Gordon Brown's brother, Andrew, is head of media relations at EdF.

ENDS

Greenpeace press office: 020 7865 8255

Romain Chabrol, Greenpeace France: +31 6 88 88 18 27

Coverage in Le Monde

Coverage on AFP

Notes:

In 2008, Gordon Brown's public consultation on nuclear power was found to be fixed by the market research company which carried out the polling, according to the official trade body.

The previous year, Greenpeace won a High Court ruling which overturned an earlier consultation on nuclear power. Mr Justice Sullivan called the first consultation "manifestly unfair" and "unlawful", adding that it was "seriously flawed" and "manifestly inadequate" because insufficient information had been made available by the Government for participants to make an "intelligent response".

Nuclear waste from the reactors likely to be built in the UK will be up to seven times more hazardous than that produced by existing reactors.

The admission was made in an 'environmental impact assessment' report by nuclear company Posiva. Posiva are responsible for managing the waste which will be produced by the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) currently being constructed in Olkiluoto, Finland.

And an independent nuclear consultant has warned that this will increase the costs of nuclear energy, as waste storage and safety expenses will rise above expected levels.

Normandy in France is the site of the only other EPR being built in the world. It is the design that French government-owned EdF will attempt to build in Britain. Last week, French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced that a second EPR would be constructed in France.

Independent nuclear consultant John Large said: "This means that not only will spent nuclear fuel produced by the EPR be more dangerous than is acknowledged by the French nuclear industry, but also storage and disposal will be more expensive than the industry and governments proclaim, and will increase the overall cost of nuclear energy.

"The French nuclear companies Areva and EDF, which aggressively market the EPR as safe and cheap, have completely ignored the implications of the increased hazards."

The EPR is designed to extract more energy from nuclear fuel than current nuclear reactors. But this causes the amount of radioactive substances in spent fuel to increase disproportionately. If the fuel is disposed of by burying it in an underground nuclear waste dump, in the long-term, the largest health risk comes from a hazardous substance known as iodine-129. The amount of iodine-129 produced by the EPR is seven times as large as that of a current operating reactor.

Nathan Argent, head of Greenpeace's energy solutions unit, said: "Nuclear power is fast becoming the most expensive form of electricity, and revelations like this should be cause for alarm amongst both investors and taxpayers.

"Instead of being hoodwinked by the vacuous promises of the nuclear lobby, government and industry should instead be making a clever investment in energy efficiency. This would create tens of thousands of British jobs, and also tackle fuel poverty and climate change in the fastest possible way."

ENDS

The full Posiva report is available online - the relevant information is on page 137.

Greenpeace press office: 020 7865 8255.