Last updated 15:56, Wednesday, 07 May 2008

THE NDA has denied press reports of the imminent departure of its chief executive, Dr Ian Roxburgh.

The claim was made inThe Observer newspaper at the weekend in an article headlined “Roxburgh quits as chief of nuclear authority”.

But the authority, in the final stages of helping select the bidder to run all of the Sellafield site, gave a more measured response.

The NDA states: “Dr Roxburgh was recruited in September 2004 to establish the NDA and agree its first Strategy with Ministers.

“He remains committed to the continued delivery of that Strategy and most importantly the completion of the Sellafield competition, scheduled to be finalised later this year.

“At some point in the future the NDA, like any organisation, will have to plan for its leadership succession.

“Dr Roxburgh has always maintained his commitment to an orderly transition once it was clear the NDA was successfully established.

“There is no currently agreed programme for the recruitment of Dr Roxburgh’s successor and it is his intention to continue as CEO for the foreseeable future.

“However, in due course, once a timetable is clear, this will be shared with our stakeholders.”