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British govt plays waiting game on compensation for nuclear test veterans

Nuclear test veteran fears he may not live to see final decision, Burton News & Staffordshire Newspaper by ROB SMYTH, 24 June 2010, A NUCLEAR test veteran has described how he believes his battle for compensation from the Government may not be won in his lifetime.Archie Ross, of Oak Close, Castle Gresley, made the claim as an appeal by the Ministry of Defence, against a decision to allow compensation for more than 1,000 servicemen, continues. Mr Ross claims that exposure to radiation in 1950s nuclear tests, during his time as an RAF serviceman on Christmas Island, near Australia, has had a devastating effect on his health, his daughters and his grandson.

But the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has rejected allegations of negligence and countered by saying that the claims for compensation are now out of date.

Mr Ross said: “Despite being told by several experts that what happened to all of us was a result of the tests in the 1950s, I feel that this case will rumble on for many years……………

“The MoD is spending lots of money to fight this as it now realises that it will not only have to apologise and admit what happened, but will also have to compensate a lot more people than they originally expected.

“The thing that still gets to me is that this case was supposed to be done and dusted by October of last year and here we are still having to fight our corner.

“Earlier this week I was at a conference in Manchester about nuclear radiation and spoke to many other people from my unit and others that were involved in similar tests.

“The stories were horrifying and the devastation caused by the government at the time so widespread someone has to admit that what happened was wrong.

“But no matter what we will keep fighting because we know that in the end the truth will come to the light.”

Burton News & Staffordshire Newspaper | Burton On Trent Local Newspaper Headlines | Daily Mail | Nuclear test veteran fears he may not live to see final decision

June 25, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radioactive