UK takes £5bn stake in Welsh nuclear power station in policy U-turn

Ministers reach initial agreement with Japanese firm Hitachi over new Wylfa plant

The UK will take a 5bn-plus stake in a new nuclear power station in Wales in a striking reversal of decades-long government policy ruling out direct investment in nuclear projects.

Ministers said they had reached an initial agreement with the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi to back the Wylfa plant but emphasised that no final decision had yet been made and negotiations were just beginning.