Sellafield to be prosecuted for IT security offences

The company which runs the Sellafield nuclear site is being prosecuted for alleged information technology security offences.

The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) says Sellafield Ltd is alleged to have committed the offences between 2019 and early 2023.

The facility, on the Cumbrian coast, is widely regarded as Western Europe's most hazardous nuclear site.

The ONR says public safety was not put at risk.

The regulator says the decision to prosecute Sellafield follows an investigation it carried out.

It says no further details can be given because legal proceedings are now under way.

The Guardian reported in December 2023 that Sellafield had been hacked by cyber groups "closely linked to Russia and China".

In an interview with the BBC later that month, Sellafield's boss, Euan Hutton, insisted there had been no cyber attack on the site.

In response to ONR's announcement, Sellafield has issued a statement confirming it had been notified it was to be prosecuted.

"As the issue is now the subject of active court proceedings, we are unable to comment further," the statement added.