The government has given the go ahead for a new £18bn nuclear power station in the UK after imposing "significant new safeguards" to protect national security, BBC News reports.

The new plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset is being financed by the French and the Chinese.

In exchange, China wants to use its design for new UK nuclear stations.

The Chinese welcomed the decision, saying they were not concerned about new rules on future projects.

Jean-Bernard Lévy, group chief executive of French firm EDF, which is building the plant, said: "The decision of the British Government to approve the construction of Hinkley Point C marks the relaunch of nuclear in Europe."

The government said it would now "impose a new legal framework for future foreign investment in Britain's critical infrastructure".

Critics of the deal have warned of escalating costs and the implications of nuclear power plants being built in the UK by foreign governments. France's EDF is funding two-thirds of the project, which will create more than 25,000 jobs, with China investing the remaining £6bn.

The Chinese agreed to take a stake in Hinkley, which will meet 7% of Britain's energy needs, and to develop a new nuclear power station at Sizewell in Suffolk on the understanding that the UK government would approve a Chinese-led and designed project at Bradwell in Essex, which has raised questions over national security.