Nuclear Issues: UK officials predicted that by the end of the 20th century Iran would have British technology to build nuclear weapons

Newly declassified official documents reveal that Britain entered into secret negotiations in 1977 to build 20 nuclear reactors in Iran.

The programme exceeded similar projects offered at the time by France and Germany and senior UK civil servants predicted that by the end of the 20th century Iran would have obtained technology from Britain to build nuclear weapons.

The then Energy Minister Tony Benn, sent a note to British Prime Minister James Callaghan saying Iran would invest millions of pounds in pressurised water reactor technology in return for Britain's agreement to supply the 20 PWR plants.

His most senior atomic energy adviser had "found himself drawn into a proposal that would involve a close nuclear partnership between Britain and Iran under which we would take a leading role in developing their massive nuclear power programme".