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British govt sent compensation to Australia, but not to British nuclear veterans

Veterans are betrayed by double standards, This Is Derbyshire, 14 July 2010, A document discreetly entitled The Australian Treaty Series 1993 No.40 hides a huge untold human story of military service, international diplomacy and, some say, betrayal.It consists of two messages – the first is from Alastair Goodlad, a junior Foreign Office minister in John Major’s administration, to the Australian High Commissioner in London.In the message, dated December 10, 1993, Mr Goodlad – now Lord Goodlad – sets out the terms of a contract which would see the British Government pay £20 million to Australia.

The payment represented a “full and final settlement of all claims” for compensation made by the Australian Government or any Australian citizen, such as a military veteran, against the British Government in relation to the UK’s nuclear weapons tests.

During the 1950s the British Government carried out a series of weapons tests in and around Australia, with many Australian soldiers joining British servicemen who took part – some 20,000 military personnel in total.

The Australian Government was left with a big clean-up operation and with servicemen demanding compensation – claiming that their health had been damaged by radiation they were exposed to during the tests.

The British agreed, Lord Goodlad’s message shows, to pay the £20 million in six instalments of from £2 million to £5 million, between January, 1994 and October, 1998………….

In an initial statement yesterday, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) argued that the payment had mainly been used by the Australian Government to decontaminate test sites.

Put under further pressure, the spokesman accepted that the 1993 deal was made by the British Government in order to settle the claims of Australian individuals, such as veterans, as well.

A second statement read: “The terms of the 1993 agreement do not rule out claims from individuals but the decision to use money paid by Her Majesty’s Government would be a matter for the Australian authorities.”

For more information about our campaign, go to www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk

THE document discreetly entitled The Australian Treaty Series 1993 No.40 hides a huge untold human story of military service, international diplomacy

July 15, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, cancer, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive