Toshiba, the key backer of Cumbria's proposed nuclear new build, is to present unaudited accounts to its shareholders at the company's AGM next month.

The troubled Japanese giant - which has a 60 per cent stake in NuGen, which has plans for a power plant at Moorside, near Sellafield, and is taking on full ownership - has not been able to submit detailed results to officials in Japan because of ongoing discussions with its auditors over its American nuclear subsidiary Westinghouse Electric.

Toshiba is forecast to make a £6.5bn loss for the last year of business and its woes stem mainly from Westinghouse, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the USA, which may have overpaid - by several billion dollars - for another nuclear construction and services business.

A Toshiba spokesman said: "The company is still cooperating with its independent auditor to close the group's financial results, including its former subsidiaries, Westinghouse Electric Company and its group of companies, which filed for Chapter 11 under the US Bankruptcy Code. At this point completion of the auditing is expected to take some more time."

"The company expresses its sincere apologies to its shareholders, investors and all other stakeholders for any concerns or inconvenience caused by this situation," he added.

Toshiba's AGM takes place in Tokyo on June 30.