The court date for the Health and Safety Executive's prosecution of AWE plc – the company which operates the Atomic Weapons Establishment, where the UK's nuclear weapons are manufactured and maintained – has been put back for a third time to allow further legal discussion to take place.
The latest hearing for the case, which was scheduled to take place on 11 March 2013, has now been postponed until 27 March.
The prosecution against AWE plc is being brought by the Health and Safety Executive following a fire at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston in August 2010.
The hearing on 27 March will be a 'plea and directions' hearing at which AWE plc will be asked to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty to charges relating to breaches of safety laws. The 27 March date remains provisional, raising the possibility that the case may be postponed yet again.