A new BBC Two documentary, 'Britain’s Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our Story', reveals the devastating human cost of the UK's post-war nuclear weapons programme. The film, airing on 20 November at 9pm, pieces together testimony from veterans and journalists, alleging decades of government cover-up.
Between 1952 and 1967, some 39,000 servicemen, scientists and local people were exposed to 45 atomic and hydrogen bombs and hundreds of radioactive experiments in Australia and Christmas Island. The tests left parts of the Outback and Pacific atolls heavily contaminated.
Five veterans speak out, describing how they were ordered to fly or sail through mushroom clouds without protection. Many later suffered cancers, heart disease, stillbirths and birth defects in their children. They have campaigned for decades for recognition.
Investigative journalist Susie Boniface obtained 4,000 pages of secret documents via Freedom of Information requests, revealing that the Atomic Weapons Establishment ordered medical exams on troops but hid the results. The MoD allegedly misled ministers and denied the tests in a European Court case.
The film also highlights the 'Woomera babies' tragedy in South Australia, where an unexplained high number of infant deaths and stillbirths occurred near the test site. Row upon row of tiny graves remain at the local cemetery.
