WS wins BNFL public affairs brief

Following the revamp of BNFL's in-house comms team late last year (PRWeek, 23 November 2001), Dewhurst has handed BNFL's public affairs brief to Weber Shandwick, the agency where he was UK chief executive until his present appointment a year ago.

The appointment follows a three-way pitch and takes the PA brief away from long-term incumbent, Bell Pottinger Public Affairs. Sister company Bell Pottinger Communications retains control of the PR brief.

The appointment comes as the nuclear industry gears up to handle the regulatory aspects of the international community's attempts to meet the demands of the Kyoto Agreement.

'If you look at the US and Asia Pacific, nuclear fuel is again becoming part of the energy mix and we need to ensure our message is spread to strategic partners here and abroad,' Dewhurst said.

Vice-chairman of Weber Shandwick GJW Michael Prescott, who runs the account alongside joint CEO Colin Byrne, said his agency had been tasked to raise the profile of BNFL's technical expertise among politicians and opinion-formers at home and abroad.

'We aim to show what BNFL is doing on plant design, clean-up and management,' Prescott said.