GORDON BROWN and John Hutton, the business secretary, are to woo international investors and power groups at a special summit in London on June 12 to drum up interest in Britain’s multi-billion-pound plans for new nuclear power stations.

About 80 top executives from banks, investment funds and leading international power and nuclear-technology groups are expected at the Westminster meeting. Brown is likely to host a dinner on the eve of the conference, with Hutton the key speaker at the half-day event.

The high-level gathering is fresh evidence of the government’s determination to press ahead with a new generation of power stations. Ministers see them as vital if the UK is to meet its commitments to reduce green-house-gas emissions, and ensure security of power supplies. Last week Brown said Britain needed a “more ambitious” programme of nuclear generation.

Senior Whitehall sources said ministers hoped to have two groups in place ready to start work on new stations by the end of the year. They would promote rival power-plant designs, ensuring the UK was not dependent on a single supplier.

The first would be the new owner of British Energy, the quoted power group that runs the UK’s existing nuclear plants. It is being auctioned by investment bank NM Rothschild. The government holds a 35% interest in British Energy.

The second group will be formed after a sale of alternative nuclear-generation sites that belong to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the government agency overseeing the clean-up of Britain’s past nuclear programmes. It is thought the NDA will begin the sale process once the BE auction is complete.

Bidders have circled British Energy for months, and its board is now considering a proposal from EDF, the giant French utility group. While EDF is tipped as the likely winner of the British Energy auction, it is not clear whether a rival might yet scupper its plans. The announcement of a preferred bidder is expected within a fortnight.

The sale could still throw up obstacles to the government’s plans. BE shareholders are likely to hold out for a price of around 800p a share, compared with EDF’s expected bid price of less than 700p.

Next week’s meeting will include presentations from Hutton, energy minister Malcolm Wickes, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and top government advisers. They will set out to investors the regulatory regime that will govern any new nuclear plants.

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