Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has finally promised to meet veterans affected by Britain's Cold War radiation experiments, 435 days after they first requested the meeting. The pledge came when a BBC reporter challenged him to honour his pre-election commitment that “your campaign is our campaign”.
Starmer said: “They’ve suffered a real injustice. I’ve met them before the election and I’ll very happily meet them… hopefully by the end of the year.” The meeting is sought to discuss the “Nuked Blood Scandal”, uncovered by the Daily Mirror, which revealed that blood and urine samples were taken from troops during nuclear weapons tests and the results removed from medical records.
Government officials, ministers and lawyers denied the programme's existence for decades, including in court and Parliament. Thames Valley Police is now conducting a major crime review into allegations of widespread misconduct in public office, following a report in May.
Campaign group LABRATS wrote to Starmer after the election requesting a meeting but received no response. The Prime Minister claimed he was unaware of the repeated requests, saying: “I will now follow up on that.” A viral video on X, showing Labour ministers' pre-election promises of compensation, has garnered nearly 9 million views.
Operation Grapple veteran John Morris, who suffered blood defects and cancer after laundering contaminated uniforms, and whose infant son died with a lung deformity, said: “I believe the man is sincere and will meet us. I believe the Establishment is stopping our messages getting through.” LABRATS founder Alan Owen added: “We already have the solution for the PM, a one year special tribunal he can set up almost immediately.”
