In another exchange, a BIS official urged energy companies to send in comments which could be incorporated into briefs to ministers and government statements, remarking: "We need to all be working from the same material to get the message through to the media and the public."
Writing to Areva an official added: "Anti-nuclear people across Europe have wasted no time blurring this all into Chernobyl and the works. We need to quash any stories trying to compare this to Chernobyl."
Japanese officials initially rated the accident as level four on the international nuclear event scale, but as the crisis worsened, it was raised to level seven on 11 April, officially making it a major accident" and putting it on a par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
The disclosure of the emails last night drew criticism from environmental campaigners and MPs.
Zac Goldsmith, the Tory MP and member of the Commons environmental audit committee, said: "The government has no business doing PR for the industry and it would be appalling if its departments have played down the impact of Fukushima."
Louise Hutchins, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace, said the emails looked like "scandalous collusion".
"This highlights the government's blind obsession with nuclear power and shows neither they, nor the industry, can be trusted when it comes to nuclear," she said.
A Government spokesman said: "Given the unprecedented events unfolding in Japan it was appropriate to share information with key stakeholders, particularly those involved in operating nuclear sites.
"The Government was very clear from the outset that it was important not rush to judgement and that a response should be based on hard evidence."
Article Source KBG Test Blog (http://rc.kbg.me)
