An estimated 1.3 million protest cards demanding the closure of British Nuclear Fuels' Sellafield reprocessing plant in Cumbria began arriving at Downing Street yesterday.
Another 500,000 are on their way to Prince Charles and the BNFL chief executive, Mr Norman Askew, as part of a high-profile anti-nuclear campaign organised by the Shut Sellafield group.
Bringing their message directly to the British Prime Minister's door on the 16th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, Ms Ali Hewson hand-delivered one of the cards, bearing an image of a human eye beside the words: "Tony, look me in the eye and tell me I'm safe". She called on British voters to make the closure of the plant an election issue.
The cards, sent from thousands of Irish households to Britain represented Ireland's deep concern about Sellafield's safety record, Ms Hewson said. "There are millions of people in Britain who live as close to Sellafield as we do, and the risks are great," she said.
"A report commissioned by the European Parliament has said Sellafield has the potential to be 80 times more hazardous than Chernobyl. We are taking all the risks and yet we do not have a say in this." The Shut Sellafield campaign said another 300,000 protest cards were being sent to Mr Blair next week. A Downing Street spokeswoman said No 10 received thousands of letters every day but refused to say how many of the postcards had arrived at Mr Blair's office.
She also insisted that it was not true to suggest that the UK did not care about the safety of people in Ireland and in the UK. The call to shut the Sellafield plant was a "catchy slogan" but it ignored the fact that Britain had a responsibility to address its nuclear legacy.
British Nuclear Fuels told The Irish Times that protest cards sent to its headquarters in Risley, Cheshire, showing human lips with a message calling on Mr Askew to "tell us the truth" about Sellafield, were still being counted. BNFL said that while it acknowledged that people in Ireland were concerned about Sellafield, it was operating a legitimate, safe business under international laws and treaties. "And there is no scientific evidence that our operations affect the health of Irish people."
Several hundred postcards with an image of a radioactive shamrock had arrived at St James's Palace, a spokeswoman confirmed. However, the palace said Prince Charles would not be commenting on the anti-Sellafield campaign as it was a political matter.
In a statement last night, the British minister for energy, Mr Brian Wilson, said he recognised genuine concerns expressed by many Irish people and where they had a rational basis, there was an obligation to respond to them. But he added: "It does seem a little strange that millions of postcards have been printed, bearing the words 'shut down Sellafield', when according to Ms Ali Hewson, speaking on BBC TV; 'We know we can't close it down'."
"It sometimes seems to be a case of denigrating Sellafield in a generalised and emotive sort of way, while ignoring the evidence produced from reputable scientific sources - most significantly, such sources within Ireland itself," Mr Wilson said.