Fears of £3bn nuclear sell-off after Dutch object Michael Fallon, the business minister who successfully pushed through the Royal Mail sale, was bullish to his aides only a few weeks ago that the deal would soon be announced. It now seems to be facing mounting political opposition in the Netherlands. Ms Vos belongs to the same party as the Dutch finance minister, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who gave the go-ahead in May for a potential deal. The Dutch ministry of finance is now expecting written questions from the country's parliament in the next two weeks and is likely to be called to a parliamentary committee next year, a spokesman said, further delaying the process. Ms Vos said that while the Dutch Labour party had not made a final decision, there was not a compelling argument for the sale. "The only argument that has been raised in favour of a sale is remaining friends with the British and for financial motives, and I do not believe this is reason enough to sell this sensitive asset," said Ms Vos. The MP also added that RWE's and E.ON's rationale for selling was clear as the German government had decided to withdraw from nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster in Japan. However, there is a possibility this could change after the German elections, Ms Vos said. She said the Dutch government enjoyed a €100m-a-year (£83.8m) dividend from the uranium enrichment company and once it sold the asset, this would be gone. "To sell this important asset for just £3bn would be a very meagre amount," Ms Vos argued. Experts said a sale of the uranium enrichment business was always going to be controversial. "This situation is full of social, political and economic issues," Ferdinand Mason, an M&A lawyer at Jones Day, said. A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: "We continue to work with the Dutch government towards a sale of our shareholdings in Urenco. These discussions remain positive.