Good News For Nuclear Victims

It has been revealed that the veterans who were involved in the 1950's nuclear tests conducted by the British military, may be one step closer to winning compensation for their injuries.

The news represents a 'glimmer of hope' for all the personal injury victims who suffered terrible pain caused by exposure to radiation, according to former RAF leading aircraftman John Taylor.

Between 1952 and 1958, the UK conducted 21 atmospheric nuclear tests in Australia at Malden Island and Christmas Island, where a number of servicemen worked.

As a result, more than 200,000 servicemen involved in the testing claim they have experienced ill-effects on their health and their children's health.

Until now the victims pleas for recognition have gone unheard, with many accusing the MoD and the government of deliberately delaying compensation.

However, Defence minister Kevan Jones recently launched a study on the impact of the tests and the veteran's health over the years.

The new research, Taylor said, will hopefully get the veterans one step closer to their long awaited victory and justice: "I hope this is not a token gesture - the inquiry is going to take a long time and that is putting a lot of the veterans' lives at risk."
Too little too late?

The new High Court ruling could force the Government to hand over more than £100 million to the 3,000 veterans who are still alive. That averages out as little more than £30,000 each, but is this compensation compromise too late?

Many experts fear the answer is yes. America has paid out £1 billion in compensation to victims and Russia aids their ex-servicemen with specialist health care, but in the UK many feel that the MOD has deliberately dragged its heels when studying this case.

Lib Dem MP Norman Baker - whose constituents in Lewes, East Sussex, including several veterans - said: "There is a suspicion the MoD has been deliberately stringing this out so that fewer and fewer people may qualify. I think there's a general delaying tactic that is unethical and callous."

He added: "It doesn't reflect well on the Government that we are lagging so far behind other countries. What must come from the pending judgment is justice and peace of mind."

With such a high rate of disease and personal injury caused by the testing, the High Court's decision could allow claims to be made from those still paying the price half a century later.

Labour MP Ian Gibson said: "The upcoming tests will show men who were present at the blasts were damaged in their genetic material and there is great potential some of it was passed on to their children."

Lawyer Clive Hyer stated that all the victims should get the compensation they deserve: "Many have died from cancers, bone degeneration and other illnesses attributable to radiation or fallout exposure. We hope to persuade the MoD to allow them to receive the compensation they deserve."

Ending on a sombre note, one ex-serviceman said that the UK government needs to be held accountable for what happened in the 1950's: "We ate radiation, we drank radiation, we bathed in it. How can our country still ignore it when the rest have acted?"

Hopefully, it will be those thoughts that will encourage the court to allow access to justice for the veterans.