Military veterans who survived British nuclear tests sue government

Military veterans who survived British nuclear tests sue the UK government for their missing medical records

• Law firm appealing for people to come forward if they think they have a claim

Military veterans who survived British nuclear tests are suing the government for their missing medical records after 70 years of high rates of cancer, miscarriage and birth defects.

Veterans, who were ordered to observe the nuclear blasts, began to realise the extent of the effects in later life when their children were born with severe deformities including spinal deformities, heart defects and sterility. 

The Ministry of Defence has repeatedly denied that the Atomic Weapons Establishment holds any evidence that blood samples were taken at nuclear tests.

But a cache of 150 documents discussing blood tests that were withheld at the MoD agency were revealed by the Mirror last year.

Law firm McCue Jury & Partners are now appealing for people to come forward if they think they have a claim.

‘The nuclear veterans have kept us safe for 70 years, but in return they have been gaslighted by the British state,’ managing partner Jason McCue told the Mirror.

Veterans, who were ordered to observe the nuclear blasts, began to realise the extent of the effects in later life when their children were born with severe deformities including spinal deformities, heart defects and sterility

The Ministry of Defence has repeatedly denied that the Atomic Weapons Establishment holds any evidence that blood samples were taken at nuclear tests. Pictured: The crew of the HMS Narvik watch the smoke rise after a British atomic test in 1956

He continued: ‘They were treated like spent ammunition – discarded and disdained by those who had a legal and moral duty of care.’

John Morris, from Rochdale, was working in a laundry at Christmas Island in 1957 where he witnessed three atom bombs and an H-bomb.

The 86-year-old developed pernicious anemia at just 26, while his son died at just four months.

But he was denied a war pension because of a lack of evidence, despite being blood tested throughout his time on the Australian island.

Talking to the Mirror, Mr Morris added: ‘I’ve lost a child, I’ve had cancer, and I’ve had a blood disorder since I was 26 years old. All the MoD has given us in return for securing the nuclear deterrent is a bunch of lies. We just want the bloody truth and we will fight for that to the bitter end.’

Nearly £21,000 has now been raised to help nuclear veterans sue the Government for ‘the toxic legacy of trauma and illness they have been left to endure’.

Servicemen were ordered to sail or crawl through the radioactive fallout to test the effects of radiation, as well as fly through mushroom clouds on sampling missions.

Many lived on testing sites for a year or more and when they returned began developing rare blood disorders and cancers, often proving fatal.

Law firm McCue Jury & Partners are now appealing for people to come forward if they think they have a claim. Pictured: Britain’s first nuclear test on Christmas Island in May 1957

The crowdfunder has been set up on behalf of the veterans by award-winning freelance journalist Susie Boniface, who has covered the campaign since 2002

Their wives had three times the normal rate of miscarriages and their children suffered 10 times the normal rate of birth defects.

The British government carried out hundreds of explosions of atom bombs, fissile material, trigger devices and thermonuclear weapons in the US, Australia and South Pacific following the Second World War.

The biggest of which was Operation Grapple Y in 1958 which was 112 times more powerful than those that levelled Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan.

The crowdfunder has been set up on behalf of the veterans by award-winning freelance journalist Susie Boniface, who has covered the campaign since 2002.

Describing the battle on CrowdJustice, she said: ‘That living nightmare is the daily reality for thousands of nuclear testing veterans and their families – 70 years.

‘Now, they have one last chance to sue the Government for the toxic legacy of trauma and illness they have been left to endure.’

She continues: ‘More than a decade ago, the Ministry of Defence defeated the last legal attempt to prove radiation caused these men’s injuries, by arguing they had brought the action too late. 

‘Now we know that the Government concealed evidence, we can compel them to produce it. 

‘With this comes a new chance for justice, and a final opportunity to tell these men they can stand at ease, and in honour.

‘Please dig as deep as you can to help these families in their last and biggest battle for the truth. Thank you for hearing them.’

Source: Read Full Article