Toshiba, the key backer of Cumbria's proposed £10bn nuclear new build, has delayed the reporting of its annual results again.

The troubled Japanese giant - which has a 60 per cent stake in NuGen, which has plans for a power plant at Moorside, near Sellafield, and is taking on full ownership - has also announced that its losses for this year are likely to be greater than it has previously forecast.

It twice delayed the publication of its nine-month results before publishing unaudited accounts in April.

It was due to publish audited on June 30 but it has now extended this to August 10.

The company has not been able to submit detailed results to officials in Japan because of ongoing discussions with its auditors over its American nuclear subsidiary Westinghouse Electric.

Toshiba's woes stem mainly from Westinghouse, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the USA, which may have overpaid - by several billion dollars - for another nuclear construction and services business.

The Japanese giant had predicted a £6.5bn loss for the financial year ending in March, this has now been changed to more than £7bn.

In a statement to investors a spokesman said: "The company expresses its sincerest apologies to its shareholders, investors and all other stakeholders for any concern or inconvenience caused."