Boris Johnson says 'Sizewell C is certainly on the agenda'

Plans for a £20bn large-scale nuclear plant on the east coast of England will be brought forward "as fast as possible", Boris Johnson has said.

The prime minister said Sizewell C in Suffolk was "certainly on the agenda" and the government planned to build a nuclear reactor every year.

There has been opposition to the plant from those who argue big nuclear is slow, expensive and threatens wildlife.

The official decision on Sizewell C is due later this month.

EDF wants to build the new two-reactor station directly to the north of the existing Sizewell B plant.

Mr Johnson told BBC Radio Suffolk: "We want Sizewell C and we will be bringing forward the plans as fast as possible."

He said the plan was to "build a nuclear reactor every year rather than once every decade" and funding would come partly out of public funds but also from investors.

Campaign group Stop Sizewell C said the prime minister's comments were "premature" as the official decision was not yet made, and the aspiration to build a reactor a year was "totally unrealistic".

The prime minister said he had been talking to people "in the Gulf, in India, around the world", and they saw the UK as a "massive long-term bet and a brilliant bet".

"On nuclear, the most important thing we are doing is undoing the mistake of saying that there's no basis for any more nuclear in this country.

"We've got to invest in nuclear, there's a big opportunity, but we've also got to have more offshore wind," he added.

The government has already committed £100m to Sizewell C and plans to take a 20% stake.

French developer EDF, which already runs Sizewell B, will also take a 20% stake in the power station.

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