Huge government subsidies to state-owned French and Chinese companies for a major new nuclear power station are "the worst deal of the century," protested Labour MP Paul Flynn yesterday.

Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the go-ahead for construction of two reactors at Hinckley Point C in Somerset as "a very big day for Britain."

But he came under fire for agreeing to pay the investing companies twice today's wholesale energy price for the entire first 35 years of operation.