UNION bosses met with Science Minister Lord Sainsbury this week to discuss a £175 million project which could decide the future of Daresbury Laboratory.

Representing more than 200 laboratory staff, the Institute of Professionals, Managers and Specialists put the case for the £175 million DIAMOND project to be sited at Daresbury.

The project aims to design and build a third generation national synchrotron source to replace the existing one at Daresbury. The synchrotron is used to investigate the structure and properties of all forms of matter, from engineering materials through to living tissue.

Staff fear that the Government will be persuaded by its joint investors, the French Government and the Cambridge-based Wellcome Trust, to locate the project further south.

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