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French nuclear bomb victims get payouts while British veterans are ignored

French nuclear bomb victims get payouts while British veterans are ignored * *By Susie Boniface, sundaymirror.co.uk 29/03/2009

French victims of nuclear bomb testing are getting a multimillion-pound payout… while British veterans are still being ignored.

This week the French government announced it was “time to be true to its conscience” and revealed a £9million compensation package.

In Britain the Ministry of Defence continues to fight claims by veterans who suffer health problems such as cancers, skin conditions, bone disorders and 10 times the normal rate of birth defects in their children.

But after more than 40 years of similar denials, the authorities in France have agreed to pay out to veterans and civilians who fell ill following tests in the Pacific.

Each claim will be dealt with by a tribunal and – in a major breakthrough – victims will not have to prove they were irradiated, as many records were lost or destroyed.

If the French government wants to fight each payout it must prove something else caused the illnesses.

Meanwhile, of 22,000 British veterans who witnessed test blasts between 1952 and 1967, only 3,000 are still alive.

French nuclear bomb victims get payouts while British veterans are ignored – mirror.co.uk

March 30, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized