Exclusive evidence can reveal that the Ministry of Defence relied on a flawed scientific study which intentionally excluded the radiation exposure records of more than 1,000 British servicemen involved in Cold War nuclear weapons tests.
‘Threadbare Science’: The Missing Data
For decades, veterans who witnessed atomic blasts in Australia and the Pacific have reported alarmingly high rates of cancer and illness, claiming their service was to blame. The government, however, has consistently pointed to an official mortality study which concluded there was no proven link between the tests and subsequent deaths, attributing cancers to "chance".
Now, a secret trove of documents known as "the Blue Books", held under lock and key by the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), shows that data was systematically removed. The files, obtained by the Mirror after a 14-month Freedom of Information battle, reveal that in 1982, a total of 14,290 servicemen were recorded as taking part in the trials.
Of these, atomic scientists had recorded a radiation dose for 6,053 individuals. Yet, when the government launched its cancer and mortality study in 1985, the records of 1,031 of these men were removed.
A Statistical Distortion with Human Cost
This manipulation had a profound impact on the study's findings. The latest official data states 20,956 men participated, but with only 5,423 recorded doses. This meant the pool of veterans whose deaths were examined grew by 47%, while the number officially recognised as being exposed to radiation was slashed by 17%.
Campaigners argue this rendered the study's conclusions meaningless. Alan Owen of the pressure group LABRATS stated: “Veterans always knew this study was a lie - now we have proof. It’s threadbare science the MoD can no longer use to cover up its misdeeds.”
The case of former RAF technician John Folkes, 89, from Broadstairs, Kent, illustrates the discrepancy. He flew sampling missions through atomic clouds during Operation Buffalo in Maralinga, Australia, in 1956, wore a radiation badge, and was ordered to walk through a bomb crater. Scientists recorded doses for 967 men at Buffalo, but the study used data for just 786. John, now living with prostate cancer and PTSD, said: “We thought they were keeping us safe. Increasingly, I wonder how I survived.”
Demands for Accountability and a Meeting with Starmer
The revelation comes after it was previously disclosed that government officials had demanded rewrites to the study's conclusions. Campaigners are now demanding the MoD ceases to rely on the discredited research entirely.
They intend to raise the issue directly with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a meeting promised for early in the New Year. Owen added: “We expect to meet the Prime Minister in the New Year and will be asking him to drop the act, and honour the victims of human radiation experiments.”
In response to the findings, an MoD spokesman said the discrepancy was a result of "rigorous" research, claiming some troops were excluded because their NHS medical records could not be found. The spokesman stated: "The Blue Books were used only as a starting point... The study researchers undertook extensive work to verify records... and remove duplicates or errors."
However, researchers have provided no detailed explanation confirming whether all the removed 1,031 doses were merely duplicates or if they differed from those used in the final report. For the veterans and their families, seventy years after the tests, the search for truth and justice continues.
