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MoD withheld information about nuclear test veterans' records, ex-minister claims
BBC • • world
Key Points:
- Veterans who participated in UK nuclear testing between 1952 and 1967 have campaigned for the release of their medical records, believing blood and urine test results could prove health damage from nuclear exposure.
- The Ministry of Defence (MoD) conducted an extensive records discovery exercise and published its findings, but veterans and former junior defence minister Tobias Ellwood allege the MoD deliberately withheld information.
- Ellwood accused the MoD of delaying the release of documents until many veterans had died and called for an independent tribunal, comparing the issue's scale and impact to major UK scandals like Windrush and infected blood.
- The MoD cited Cold War secrecy and a lack of centralized record-keeping as reasons for difficulties in accessing medical records, though some documents are being transferred to the National Archives with heavy redactions.
- Despite the release of five reports in 2024, veterans remain frustrated, arguing that the redacted information is insufficient to support their health claims related to nuclear test exposure.
