The government would have you believe that all is well in the world of nuclear power. That the path to building more of them in the UK is smooth and care-free.

It isn’t. We know this because we’re keeping a keen eye on the whole process. A very keen eye. And Greenpeace investigations have exposed that the path is not as smooth as the government will have you believe.

Legal advice from top lawyers says that the government’s nuclear plans are open to a number of challenges, on a number of fronts, over a number of years.

The document mentions several times a "risk of legal challenge". There are, it makes clear, "several routes of challenge". Until at least 2012. For example, the government "will face further legal challenge which is capable of knocking back the programme by a year or more, if it continues to give the impression that the process is a foregone conclusion."

Or, "particularly if the target local communities show themselves as concerned at the prospect."

The legal advice also identified that the "environmental assessment is potentially a source of delay and challenge". And, they concluded, "it remains to be seen whether the new system will be able to deliver in a sensitive and transparent way which is satisfactory without delay from the courts or electoral upset."

Thanks to the lawyers for the advice.