Public consultations carried out by the government on new nuclear energy plants were flawed, the UK's market research trade body ruled yesterday.
The Market Research Standards Board said the consultation, carried out by Opinion Leader Research, was in breach of its code of conduct. In the sessions in which the public were asked for their opinions on nuclear power, "information was inaccurately or misleadingly presented, or was imbalanced, which gave rise to a material risk of respondents being led towards a particular answer".
Greenpeace, which made the complaint to the Market Research Standards Board, said the debacle showed the case for nuclear power was weak. Fiona Harvey