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UK Member of Parliament calls for justice for nuclear veterans

These were young men who were put in the vicinity of weapons tests of which we had no idea about what the side effects would be. “Many of them have now died, many of them are extremely ill and successive governments have done all they can to block compensation to these men.

A MEMBER of an influential parliamentary committee has backed the Derby Telegraph’s campaign to make the Government compensate British nuclear test veterans. derbyshire telegraph 21Sept 10, Some 20,000 servicemen took part in Britain’s atomic bomb tests in the 1950s and 1960s, with many now claiming they suffer ill health as a result of radiation exposure. About 1,000 are fighting a court case against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a bid to win compensation, but the Government is refusing to pay out.Britain’s wartime allies, the USA and France, have both set up major compensation schemes for their nuclear test veterans.Australia, Russia and China have also put in place packages to help former servicemen who took part in tests.Only the UK has failed to recognise its nuclear veterans in any way.

MP Alison Seabeck sits on the House of Commons Defence Select Committee, which scrutinises the Government’s decisions regarding the military.

She said: “These were young men who were put in the vicinity of weapons tests of which we had no idea about what the side effects would be.

“Many of them have now died, many of them are extremely ill and successive governments have done all they can to block compensation to these men.

“It was a front line in a different way to that which is now in Afghanistan.

“But it was a front line nonetheless, one where people were subject to risks we just didn’t understand.”

Earlier this year, the Telegraph launched a campaign to push the Government to come to a settlement with veterans – which we suggested could even be done for about £20 million.

Ms Seabeck, whose Plymouth Moor View constituency is home to the Royal Marines, today gave her full backing to the Telegraph’s campaign.

She said: “The Government has already spent huge amounts of money in fighting a legal battle against paying out, and there may be much more spent.

“The right thing to do now is to draw up a plan to compensate these people in the same way that others who have suffered injury get compensated. I’ll be looking at opportunities in the new parliamentary session to press the Government on the question.”

A MEMBER of an influential parliamentary committee has backed the Derby Telegraph’s campaign to make the Government compensate British nuclear test veterans.

September 23, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive