Michael Redfern QC will look at 65 reported cases involving workers who were mainly employed at Sellafield in Cumbria between 1962 and 1992.

He said the number of cases would undoubtedly rise during the course of his investigation but he did not anticipate "huge numbers".

Announcing the framework of the independent probe, he said his role was not concerned with the safety of the nuclear industry but whether the retention of organs was carried out within the law at the time.

The Government moved quickly to appoint Mr Redfern after feelings of "shock and outrage" were expressed over the disclosure that organs were taken from individuals and then analysed for radionuclide content. A radionuclide is an unstable form of an element that can decay and give off radiation.

The then Trade and Industry Secretary, Alistair Darling, told the Commons in April that the individuals concerned were largely based at Sellafield, but there were also cases from Aldermaston, in Berkshire; Harwell, in Oxfordshire, and possibly other sites. There is also one known case from the Capenhurst nuclear site in Cheshire and two from the Springfields nuclear site in Lancashire.

Mr Redfern said research published in the 1980s deriving from the organ examinations revealed retention of whole organs and long bones including the femur and rib cage.

That research also showed that organs were also obtained from "two control groups", one consisting of deceased residents from the Sellafield area and a second from further afield.

Mr Redfern previously conducted the inquiry into the removal of body organs from children at the Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, which concluded a pathologist "systematically stripped" organs from dead children.

He said: "We have started investigating all the cases referred to us by BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels). It is likely there will be more. I don't expect to deal with huge numbers but we expect to exceed the current total of 65. I don't think it is useful at this stage to speculate on what the final figure may be."