An Taisce bid to take Hinkley Point C legal challenge to European courts

An Taisce says Irish people should have been consulted over the nuclear plant

Ireland's National Trust wants to challenge permission for a new nuclear power plant in Somerset in the European courts, a judicial review has heard.

An Taisce is contesting the legality of granting consent for Hinkley Point C, 150 miles (240km) from the Irish coast.

It claims under EU directives, Irish people should have been consulted about the environmental risks beforehand.

At a hearing in London, its lawyers said the case should be referred to the European courts.

In March 2013, Energy Secretary Ed Davey gave EDF Energy planning consent to build Hinkley Point C on the Somerset coast.

But An Taisce claim the government failed to undertake a "transboundary consultation" with the Irish people as required by the European Commission's Environmental Impact Assessment Directive.

The government says that such consultation was not necessary because nuclear accidents are not sufficiently likely due to the robustness of the UK regulatory regime.

Earlier, at the start of a two-day judicial review hearing in London, David Wolfe QC, for An Taisce, told the appeal judges the case turned on issues of European Union law.

He said the appropriate course was a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union.