The Government needs to be prepared to take a stake in energy projects like Cumbria's proposed new £10bn nuclear plant, according to a major trade union.

Unite has made the call following a report into the funding of the Hinkley Point nuclear new build in Somerset by the National Audit office, which described the Government's deal for the scheme as "risky and expensive".

Hinkley Point is being built by EDF, with a stake from Chinese state-owned investor CGN. When Theresa May became prime minister last July she pressed the ‘pause’ button on the project, but the go-ahead was eventually given in September.

The union, which is the UK's largest, made a similar call for state intervention earlier this year when French firm ENGIE announced it was selling it 40 per cent stake in NuGen, the company behind plans for a power plant at Moorside, near Sellafield.

Unite national officer for energy Kevin Coyne said: “The report by the National Audit Office (NAO) on the financing of Hinkley Point in Somerset and its future economic benefits underlines once again the need for the government to take up ‘a golden share’ in future energy projects.

“The commitment of government money would iron out the uncertainty of relying on the private sector for financing and would in the long-run be a better deal in the national interest in terms of energy security, the taxpayers’ pocket and the price the hard-pressed consumer has to pay for their energy.

“We welcomed French company EDF taking up the cudgels in pushing ahead with the development and providing the finance for the construction of the £18bn Hinkley Point plant. However, it is not a financial model we would wish to see for infrastructure projects, including nuclear new build, going forward."

He added: “The aversion of the government in recent years in taking a financial stake in new future infrastructure projects, such as Moorside, has now been exposed by the NAO report.”