THE company with plans to bring nuclear new build to Cumbria is seeking an early meeting with Copeland's new MP.

NuGen - which has plans for a power plant at Moorside, near Sellafield - has congratulated Trudy Harrison after her shock result in the constituency, becoming the first Conservative to represent the area in more than 80 years.

The company's chief executive Tom Samson said the firm was committed to having a good relationship with Mrs Harrison.

He said: “My team and I look forward to working closely with Copeland’s new MP as we take forward this project, which will be transformational for the area.”

NuGen has two investors - Toshiba of Japan, which has a 60 per cent stake, and French firm ENGIE - and it proposed plant would use three Westinghouse Electric reactors.

A decision on whether to proceed with Moorside is due in 2018.

Doubts have surrounded the project this year though because of Toshiba's troubled financial position, with the Japanese corporation forecasting a group loss of 390bn yen (£2.74bn) for the full year to March 31. This has been mainly caused by problems in the firm's nuclear division.

Toshiba though has insisted it "remains committed" to Moorside.