COPELAND MP Trudy Harrison has called for any post-Brexit nuclear body to be based in west Cumbria.

She described her constituency as the "best location" for any such organisation.

Her comments came after Barrow MP John Woodcock called for clarity on the future of nuclear regulation after Prime Minister Theresa May announced Britain would leave Euratom - the European Atomic Energy Community, responsible for nuclear safety and security in Europe since 1957 - as part of Brexit.

Mrs Harrison said leaving Euratom was the "right thing to do" and said that the UK should set up its own nuclear regulatory body.

"I would hope that this could be based in Copeland, it would seem to me to be the best location for it," she added. "Japan and the USA have a similar arrangement and, obviously, they are not part of Euratom so there is a model there."

Mr Woodcock though was more critical.

He said: “The regulations put in place by Euratom have served the UK nuclear industry well, and it will be a huge job of work to establish own separate nuclear safety authority. The Government must make resolving the uncertainty they have created for the nuclear industry a priority as we enter these difficult negotiations and do nothing to further risk the future of this vital sector.”