Britain’s atomic test veterans continue their campaign for justice
Last year, the Court of Appeal ruled that a group of more than 1,000 veterans’ claims against the Ministry of Defence over illnesses including various cancers and infertility were “statute-barred” because they had been made too late.
“Thousands of people want a court to consider whether their health, and that of their unborn children, was damaged by attending the detonation of nuclear bombs but your government – the latest in a long line of administrations of every political party to do so – is spending millions of taxpayers’ money to deny us this right.
“Your government has enshrined the Military Covenant to honour the sacrifices of all our veterans but we survivors of the nuclear tests are still being denied a fair hearing.”
Christmas Island veterans’ court struggle carries on, Nov 24 2011 by Lynn Jolly, Paisley Daily Express A DETERMINED nuclear testing campaigner has written to the Prime Minister in a bid to highlight the plight of 22,000 men who were forced to watch atomic bomb blasts. Thousands of soldiers claim they were used as guinea pigs on Christmas Island, in the Pacific Ocean, half a century ago as Britain and America carried out a series of nuclear tests.
These include Johnstone man Ken McGinley, 72, who went to Christmas Island as a young sapper with the Royal Engineers and remembers – at the age of just 19 – seeing the bones through his skin as he raised his hands to protect his eyes from the dazzling glare of the test blast.
Ken, right, has suffered constant health problems, including infertility, since then and, along with more than 1,000 other veterans, has battled against the Ministry of Defence through the courts.
The MoD claims the veterans can’t prove a link between the ill heath they’ve suffered and their exposure to radiation from the nuclear tests. But leave to appeal the decision at the Supreme Court was granted and this hearing, which involves 18 men and women who represent the whole group, is currently ongoing in London.
Ken’s letter to David Cameron states that all they want is “a very basic right – to be heard”. He is now waiting for a reply to his letter and hopes it will have an impact.
Ken told Mr Cameron: “Thousands of people want a court to consider whether their health, and that of their unborn children, was damaged by attending the detonation of nuclear bombs but your government – the latest in a long line of administrations of every political party to do so – is spending millions of taxpayers’ money to deny us this right.
“Your government has enshrined the Military Covenant to honour the sacrifices of all our veterans but we survivors of the nuclear tests are still being denied a fair hearing.
“It was 59 years ago that the first of 22,000 men were ordered to stand and watch as nuclear bombs were detonated. In the years that followed, many more bombs were exploded in Australia, America and the South Pacific.
“We were told to cover our eyes and turn our backs but had no safety clothing, equipment or advice.”
The veterans strongly believe their DNA could have been damaged by the radiation, which led to their wives having miscarriages, babies being born with defects and even grandchildren having deformities.
Mr McGinley’s letter also states: “Our time is running out but we will go on fighting. We want only to be heard. We served our nation.”
A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister’s office confirmed that they have received Mr McGinley’s letter.
She added: “We will respond in due course.”
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1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
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