Philip Dewhurst

Background

Dewhurst has been BNFL's Group Corporate Affairs Director since April 2001. He has been a board member of the Nuclear Industry Association for three years and has chaired the association's Communication Working Group for two years.

Ex-President of the Institute of Public Relations. He is a Visiting Fellow of the Media School of Bournemouth University. Before joining BNFL, Philip was UK Chief Executive of Shandwick International. ^[1]

Spinning Nuclear

It is Dewhurst's belief that the nuclear "industry has to do more to spell out the benefits of nuclear". He says the main ways to positively spin the case nuclear for nuclear are the "security of supply, avoiding CO2 emissions and therefore helping in the fight against global warming while supplying safe and reliable energy". ^[2]

Spreading the Message Via Third Parties

Interviewed by PR Week in February 2006, Dewhurst, admitted that BNFL had been using the classsic PR technique of using a third party to push the nuclear message. He said that it had taken considerable effort to persuade the public to reconsider the nuclear option. Said Dewhurst: "five years ago the reputation of nuclear was at an all-time low. MI5 said a terrorist attack on Sellafield with a hijacked aircraft 'could not be prevented', and that destroyed public confidence."

Dewhurst added: "Now we use a company called Strategic Awareness, which uses in-depth research to help us develop our message. We spread that via third-party opinion because the public would be suspicious if we started ramming pro-nuclear messages down their throats". ^[3]

External Links

• ^ Nuclear Industry Assocition, website

• ^ Financial Times, Ask the Expert: Nuclear Energy, October 24, 2005

• ^ Alex Black, "Issues Management: How Nuclear Power got its Groove Back", PR Week, March 2, 2006