Nuclear test veterans and their families are set to sue the government over access to medical records they believe could reveal details about their exposure to radiation.
More than 30,000 young British and Commonwealth servicemen served at British test locations in Australia and the Pacific Ocean, but in the years since, those who were involved say they have been ignored and lied to by the Ministry of Defence.
LABRATS International has campaigned for the millions across the world exposed to fallout from the testing programmes, and the families who still suffer today from illness and deformities.
Now the veterans who were involved have offered to settle their legal claims through a special tribunal.
Dennis Hayden was posted to Australia in the 1960s and told GB News he has suffered countless health problems he believes are because of his exposure to radiation
Dennis Hayden was posted to Australia in the 1960s and told GB News he has suffered countless health problems he believes are because of his exposure to radiation.
He said: “By the time I got to Maralinga, the whole place was fizzing with residual radiation, but we didn't know that.
“We were part of an experimental program that was set in motion right in 1952 at the start. They wanted to know the effects of radiation were not only on the equipment, but on the men themselves, that’s why none of us had any protective clothing when we went to the forward areas.
“It was a deliberate policy for the men there at the time to get the soldiers to crawl through the dust in the forward area, and get as much dust on their clothing as part of an experiment.
“They wanted to find out the effects of what ingesting fallout would be on the human body.”
British nuclear weapons testing ran between 1952 and 1967 in Australia and the South Pacific.
Terry Hughes was part of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the civilian support branch of the Royal Navy. He was deployed to Christmas Island in 1958 and witnessed the detonation of a Hydrogen bomb.
He told GB News: “The resident Naval Officer had to come out and explain to everybody there was nothing to worry about, it was only a bomb that would be exploded and we wouldn’t feel any effects at all.
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Dennis Hayden claimed it was a deliberate policy for the men there at the time to get the soldiers to crawl through the dust in the forward area, and get as much dust on their clothing as part of an experiment
“My wife had one miscarriage, my son can’t have any children and I’ve got a granddaughter who has epileptic fits, but I didn't really put two and two together until I joined the LABRATS.
“Radiation is a silent enemy, that’s the problem. You don’t know it’s happening and you can’t feel it until it’s in your body.”
Veterans and their next-of-kin served a “letter before action” last month, setting out the details of their claims in the hope they can gain access to medical records and win compensation for their injuries.
Last year, the government unveiled the Nuclear Test Medal, recognising the military, civilian, and overseas staff and personnel who participated in Britain’s nuclear testing programme in the 1950s and 1960s.
For LABRATS International founder, Alan Owen, whose father was a nuclear test veteran, the legal challenge is only the beginning.
He said: “These guys were guinea pigs, they were lab rats, because they were part of the experiment ,and they continued to be part of the experiment, and as descendants we continue to be part of the experiment.
“Why would you withhold someone’s medical records under national security laws? It just doesn’t happen.
“Why would they do that if there was nothing in there that would prove these guys were irradiated and that their medical records and their health were affected by those tests.”
Dennis Hayden said his wife had a miscarriage, his son can’t have any children and his granddaughter has epileptic fits
The campaigner doesn’t believe the claim records can be accessed from the Ministry of Defence upon request.
He added: “We sit in this bubble as the nuclear test veteran community fighting against the establishment.
“Ministers will go to parliament and say ‘all you’ve got to do is apply for your medical records and they’ll give them to you’. It just doesn’t happen, it’s not a reality, they’re not there as easy and accessible as just applying.
“They will fight you all the way and they will delay it.”
In response, a government spokesperson told GB News: “We are grateful to all service personnel who participated in the British nuclear testing programme, which is why we have formally recognised them with an official medal.
“Nuclear test veterans who believe they have suffered ill health due to service have the existing and long standing right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pensions Scheme.”
You can donate to the campaign at: crowdjustice.com/case/nuclear-veterans-case/