Rolls-Royce have small modular reactors (SMRs) ready to go. The government is dragging its heels.

I rather suspect that one of the principle reasons is the creating and maintaining of the physical security required for such sites. Imagine a country scattered with mini nuclear bombs situated in the middle of nowhere and the cohorts of undesirables coming into the country nearly every day - pc term is 'Bad Actors' who only have to get lucky once- and then imagine the logistics of keeping each site heavily guarded. They have enough problems at the likes of Sellafield and other sites..

Haven't R-R been powering His Majesty's Ships for decades?

I don't think that you can make a bomb out of one, even though they carry a few.

I don't think that you can make a bomb out of one

You can make a "dirty bomb" though - conventional explosives scattering the not only radioactive but usually very toxic fissile material far and wide...

   - Andy.

We (and France) had a fleet of reliable nuclear power stations built and maintained using 1950's technology. I don't think credible to say that we can't operate such things safely and reliably using modern standards. Some problems are not meant to be solved.

We (and France) had a fleet of reliable nuclear power stations built and maintained using 1950's technology. I don't think credible to say that we can't operate such things safely and reliably using modern standards. Some problems are not meant to be solved.