The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been compelled to release 315 pages of blood test data from nuclear weapon tests, after decades of denial and secrecy. This newspaper campaigned for 40 years on behalf of the veterans, and the review—sneaked out during the World Cup semi-final—vindicates their testimony. Heads must roll.
Hidden Files and Destroyed Records
In 2018, Parliament was told the MoD was “unable to locate any information” about blood testing of troops at nuclear weapon tests. Now, the department has been forced to publish documents it had all along, hidden behind state secrecy. There is confirmation of another 50,000 files owned by the MoD that it has not given itself permission to search. Additionally, 5,339 veterans may have been deliberately excluded from health studies.
Medical records were deliberately and unlawfully destroyed up to September last year, as the review was drawing to a close. Ministers were repeatedly briefed, and courts repeatedly told, there was no blood testing programme. Criminal allegations are now under review by Thames Valley Police. This cover-up has cost thousands of service families their lives, their health, and their sanity.
Decades of Denial
In 1983, journalist Paul Foot first reported in these pages on “The Curse of Christmas Island”. A few months later, the Sunday People launched its investigation into “Atom Bomb Kids” born with birth defects. From that day, the British government has lied and denied what happened to troops sent to Montebello, Emu Field, Maralinga, and Christmas Island—and to the indigenous people who called those places home.
Winston Churchill told Parliament no-one was killed “apart from some local rats”. Anthony Eden, privately warned of genetic hazards, said: “It’s a pity, but we cannot help it.” Margaret Thatcher claimed only 12,000 troops were involved, when the true figure appears to be more than 26,000.
Ongoing Campaign and Tribunal Plans
This newspaper has been the veterans’ champion for two decades, first winning the Nuclear Test Medal then uncovering the Nuked Blood Scandal. It repeatedly revealed human experiments, secret documents, and genetic research that proved the veterans’ case. The MoD gave off-the-record briefings to other media denying it all.
The newspaper first approached Andy Burnham in 2021 to meet the veterans. Now, the incoming Prime Minister has told campaigners he will begin work this summer on a special tribunal, which is seen as the only way to end the cover-up and gather evidence for prosecutions.
Through decades of trauma and grief, the veterans have shown nothing but courage. The MoD displayed nothing but cowardice. To the government, these brave servicemen were simply guinea pigs. To us, they were heroes.
