A former US Navy admiral turned Sellafield director has this week been voted in as chairman of Copeland Council’s nuclear board.

Members of the authority’s Strategic Nuclear and Energy Board (SNEB) nominated Steven Morgan because of his extensive experience within the industry, with the panel agreeing he would make an “excellent chairman”.

Councillor Sam Pollen nominated him because he is “politically neutral” and acceptable to Conservative and Labour members of the panel.

Mr Morgan, who also serves on the executive and the Standards and Ethics Committee, vowed to help turn around west Cumbria’s economic fortunes as part of his pre-election pledge.

The big-hitter has worked on submarines, in the civil service on both sides of the Atlantic, has had high-profile jobs in the nuclear industry.

Latterly, he helped lead the building of Heathrow Airport’s terminal two and the recovery after the troubled opening of terminal five.

Having been a full-time naval officer and then a reservist, Mr Morgan spent much of his civilian life in the nuclear industry.

When he retired from the military just before the Gulf War, he was headhunted by BNFL to work at Sellafield.

His role saw him prepare the nuclear plant for the transfer from government ownership to a contractor, Nuclear Management Partners. And when NMP took over, Mr Morgan was among a host of senior managers who were axed.

He then moved south to work for BAA at Heathrow and the Ministry of Defence, but kept his home in Rowrah and retained his love of west Cumbria.

He was inspired to take on a key community role by the late Mark Birkett, of Isel Hall, amid concerns the area had lost its community fathers with the demise of BNFL, Marchon and mining.

As a military man, Mr Morgan feels a duty to his comrades in arms and it was this that led to him becoming chairman of Calderwood House in Egremont.

He is also a volunteer board member for the Newcastle NHS trust which provides some of north Cumbria’s services, has been president of Whitehaven Sea Cadets, and assists the Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster with strategic planning.

Having had an insight into how government works during his time working in London, Mr Morgan was left cold by party politics.

He also has ambitious plans to help the area’s economy diversify away from dependence on Sellafield towards manufacturing and international export – and to give local graduates a reason to come back to the region.

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