A prosecution of AWE plc – the company which operates the Atomic Weapons Establishment, where the UK's nuclear weapons are manufactured and maintained – has been adjourned until 16 May.
At a preliminary hearing in Reading Crown Court on 27 March Judge Richard Parkes ordered Bernard Thoroughgood QC, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive, and James Maxwell-Scott QC, defending AWE plc, to exchange papers in readiness for a full hearing on 16 May.
AWE is expected to enter a plea on this date, and a full day has been set aside to hear the case.
The prosecution against AWE plc is being brought by the Health and Safety Executive for breaches of safety law following a fire at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston in August 2010.
The case was first scheduled to be heard in Reading Magistrates Court on 6 August 2012 but has since been adjourned a number of times.