Allow nuclear waste disposal under national parks, say MPs

Safest site should be chosen regardless of location, committee says - but opponents call idea 'outrageous'

Highly radioactive nuclear waste could be permanently buried under national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs), under government plans backed by a committee of MPs.

Deep geological burial is seen as the only permanent solution for nuclear waste that will remain radioactive for many thousands of years and is currently stored at surface sites across the UK. Ministers' attempts to choose a site in Cumbria for the 12bn facility were foiled in 2013 when the county council rejected the proposal.