What is Euratom and why does it matter? | Dan Roberts

Tory rebels are fighting over the UK's participation in the European atomic energy community. What happens if Britain does quit?

Of all the many European collaborations threatened by Brexit, the UK's participation in the European atomic energy community, Euratom, might seem an odd subject for Tory rebels to pick for their first fight. But the government's policy on leaving this nuclear safety and research watchdog provides an unusually clear-cut example of the economic pain of taking back control - and one for which there is unusually limited political justification.

"Initially created to coordinate the member states' research programmes for the peaceful use of nuclear energy," explains the official legal summary, "the Euratom treaty today helps to pool knowledge, infrastructure and funding of nuclear energy. It ensures the security of atomic energy supply within the framework of a centralised monitoring system."