LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - British taxpayers will not bear the cost of budget overruns and delays on the construction of Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, the government said on Tuesday following an announcement by the French utility EDF on delays to the project.

“Hinkley Point C is not a government project and so any additional costs or schedule overruns are the responsibility of EDF and its partners and will in no way fall on taxpayers," a spokesperson at the department for Energy Security and Net Zero said in a statement. (Reporting by Farouq Suleiman; editing by William James)