Dear Supporters

Tonight at 9pm BBC 2 will air Britain’s Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our Story (Hardcash Films).  This is D-day in our campaign for truth and justice.  The 75-minute documentary stands to be as significant for the veterans as Mr Bates v The Post Office was for postmasters.  

It makes clear that that troops, civilians and indigenous people were knowingly, recklessly and negligently exposed to radiation during the nuclear testing programme in Australia and the South Pacific in the 1950s and 60s.  

It shows they were treated like guinea pigs in the proximity of nuclear experiments, forced to fly, march, crawl and sail through mushroom clouds with little or no protection, while their health was monitored and the results of that monitoring hidden from them ever since.  

It leaves no doubt that various arms of the British State have sought to repress truth about what really happened, leaving veterans and their families in the dark about the risks that they face.  

All of the above the veterans and their families knew already.  But, finally, others will see it too. And it leaves the Ministry of Defence, which is the department with ultimate responsibility for this scandal, in an impossible position - no longer able to deny what everyone knows, yet still refusing to acknowledge the seriousness of its failures, and the size of its legal liabilities.

This is a critical moment for the campaign.  The public outcry will be huge.  The MoD must now come to the table and engage with the veterans on their offer of a Special Justice Tribunal. This is the only timely and cost-efficient way of ending this scandal, without time-consuming and expensive litigation or public inquiry.

The legal team will provide a further update later this week. 

Dear Supporters

We write to provide you with an update on the Nuclear Test Veterans' fight for justice.

We remain in Phase 1 of this action, which is to try to get an answer from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on where the Veterans’ medical records are and, if they do not have them, an explanation of what happened to them.  Phase 1 is supported entirely from donations so we are extremely grateful for your support to date.  

Since the Letter Before Action was served at the end of March the MoD have made no attempt at constructive discussion, only attempting to shut down the legal proceedings through stonewalling and diversion.  In response to our 45 pages of documentation sent at the end of March they provided a short two page response pointing us to irrelevant historic judgments.

They have not engaged at all with the key question: now that we know the medical records were taken, where are they?

Additionally, the MoD have refused to engage with the possibility of establishing a special tribunal, which would be the swiftest way to ensure justice for the Veterans and their families.  This is unsurprising, but disappointing nonetheless.

Over the past six weeks, the MoD has delayed their response to our correspondence several times.

As a result, we have now written three times to the MoD demanding they provide a proper response to the Veterans’ claims.  If they continue to obfuscate, we will be left with no choice but to seek to compel them to engage through Court action.   We will keep you updated once we have a more substantive response.

At the same time there are other encouraging aspects to the campaign.

Following public pressure, the Atomic Weapons Establishment recently de-classified and published 150 historic files that relate to blood and urine testing of the Veterans.  While our review is ongoing, these records show that testing of the Veterans should have, or did, take place.  They also show that records were kept.  The fact they were classified for so long demonstrates the uphill struggle the Veterans face. 

The recent publication of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s report is also encouraging. It demonstrates that under enough pressure, an independent body can be established to investigate government cover-ups and discover the truth - even many years later.  

Once again, we thank all our supporters for their generous contributions in funding the case. We could not have made it to this point without you. Each one of your donations, big or small, truly makes a difference in achieving justice for these Veterans who nobly served our nation.

If you are also willing and able to copy and paste the below text to just 10 of your friends and family, share our crowdfunding link on social media, it could have a huge impact on public awareness and support for our fight. We need the Bloody Truth, and we won't stop until we have it.

We send you our thanks for all you've done so far.

The Nuclear Veteran Community

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Suggested text:

Between 1952 and 1967, more than 20,000 British servicemen took part in hundreds of Cold War weapons tests in Australia and the South Pacific.  They would have been jailed for refusing.  Their efforts delivered the nuclear deterrent which has kept this country and her allies safe ever since. Today, only 2,000 or so - most in their 80s, and with chronic health problems - still survive.

But their medical records - detailing blood and urine tests taken during the trials, to assess what impact if any it was having on their bodies - are mysteriously missing. Without them, thousands of troops have suffered decades of fear and worry. Their 155,000 descendants, who report high rates of birth defects, are also traumatised.

The UK government is the only nuclear power on Earth to continue to deny its nuclear weapons testing ever harmed anyone, and has persistently denied such blood tests ever took place.

In 2022, we found the proof that they did. We've found the orders, and proved this personal health data, vital for accurate diagnosis and treatment, is hidden under national security exemptions. Even more new evidence is coming to light following our lobbying efforts.

The Nuclear Veterans are demanding these missing medical records and could really use your help to crowdfund their case. I’ve already donated and they’ve raised over £62,000, but are trying to reach £100,000 by 1 September 2024.

You can donate on the crowdfunding campaign page by clicking here https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/nuclear-veterans-case/. Please share on Facebook and Twitter, to generate even more donations and awareness of this excellent cause.

Thank you for your support.

March 2024 update:

Our aim is to secure access to the veterans’ missing medical records, the existence of which would be able to finally prove whether or not these brave men were irradiated in service of their country, and any connection to the litany of health problems they have suffered ever since. More importantly we want to find out what the government knew, and we did not.

A group of survivors and descendants served a Letter Before Action – the starting gun in legal proceedings – on the MoD earlier today (Tuesday March 19). The letter was also served on Rishi Sunak at Downing Street, along with a petition calling for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to recognise and honour these men with the truth. You can read about it here: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/nuclear-bomb-test-veterans-serve-32391626

It is not enough to launch a case and wait many years for resolution. The average veteran is now well into his 80s. So we have made the government an offer to resolve our claim through a Special Tribunal, a fast-track alternative to court proceedings, with the statutory powers to investigate, compensate, and commemorate the longest-running scandal in British history. If it is agreed, this would not only reduce costs to the taxpayer, but have a remit to report back within a year.

The MoD now has a Hobson’s Choice.  Its legal options are either to provide the missing records to us so we can make any personal injury claims, or to compensate us for negligence and recklessness if the records have been withheld, lost, destroyed, or never taken at all. 

But there is another way.  Should the MoD really want to honour those who have done their duty and build a positive legacy for the future, it can engage in a discussion with the veterans about the establishment of the tribunal.  This would avoid the protracted expense of a long court battle, when for many veterans time is running out.  We await their response and have demanded one in 21 days: we will update you again when we get it.

We could not have got this far without you, and we thank you very much for your generous support. We now need to ask for your support again, to fund the next phase of preparations for a possible court hearing. We know times are hard, but anything you could give can and will make a big difference.

Dear Supporter, 

Thank you for your generous help with the Nuclear Test Veterans’ search for justice.  

As you know, we are fighting for straight answers from the Ministry of Defence about the whereabouts of veteran medical records. Without them, they and their families will never truly know what level of radiation they were exposed to during the Cold War weapons programme which has kept us all safe for seven decades. Nor will they ever be able to get accurate diagnoses and medical treatment, or peace of mind about what really happened to them.

We'd like to update you on the legal work we've been able to do, thanks to your donation. 

The first phase of the legal action is underway.  In the two and a half months since the launch of this campaign, we have laid the groundwork for formal proceedings to force the MoD to release or confirm the whereabouts of medical records. We cannot provide full details of the legal strategy due to its sensitive nature, but we can say that our legal team at McCue Jury & Partners have:

• Collected and reviewed evidence and witness testimony, to provide a compelling narrative of the medical testing conducted on tri-service personnel over more than a decade during the nuclear trials programme
• Developed a plan based on that evidence
• Instructed a King’s Counsel, who has provided a formal legal opinion on the viability of the novel strategy that we have developed
• Begun a global database of nuclear test veterans and their families
• Engaged with key politicians and stakeholders to collaborate with them to address the medical records, and advocate for the nuclear community

The ongoing lobbying and the building threat of legal action is increasing the pressure on the MoD.  Most recently, you may have seen its commitment for a review by ministers and officials of 150 documents about blood testing of troops uncovered by the Daily Mirror. The Atomic Weapons Establishment has confirmed it holds these files, which it had previously denied existed. Some of these appear to have been withheld from the public under national security exemptions, and our investigation into how and why this happened to personal health data continues. 

We are now ready to take the next step, and formally demand release of medical records or, should they no longer exist, answers about what happened to them. Depending on how the MoD responds, we may need to ask a court to order it comply with our request.

We could not do this without you, and we thank you very much for your generous support so far. We have received large donations, from Ecotricity founder Dale Vince and the Mirror's parent company Reach plc, but wider support is invaluable to continue our fight for the truth. Without your help these next steps would be impossible, and the truth forever out of reach.

If you are also willing and able to copy and paste the below text to just 10 of your friends and family, share our crowdfunding link on social media, or ask for donations as a Christmas gift, it could have a huge impact on public awareness and support for our fight. We need the Bloody Truth, and we won't stop until we have it.

We send you our thanks for all you've done so far, and our very best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

The Nuclear Veteran Community

Suggested text:

Between 1952 and 1967, more than 20,000 British servicemen took part in hundreds of Cold War weapons tests in Australia and the South Pacific.  They would have been jailed for refusing.  Their efforts delivered the nuclear deterrent which has kept this country and her allies safe ever since. Today, only 2,000 or so - most in their 80s, and with chronic health problems - still survive.

But their medical records - detailing blood and urine tests taken during the trials, to assess what impact if any it was having on their bodies - are mysteriously missing. Without them, thousands of troops have suffered decades of fear and worry. Their 155,000 descendants, who report high rates of birth defects, are also traumatised.

The UK government is the only nuclear power on Earth to continue to deny its nuclear weapons testing ever harmed anyone, and has persistently denied such blood tests ever took place.

Last year we found the proof that they did. We've found the orders, and proved this personal health data, vital for accurate diagnosis and treatment, is hidden under national security exemptions.

The Nuclear Veterans are demanding these missing medical records and could really use your help to crowdfund their case. I’ve already donated and they’ve raised over £53,000, but are trying to reach £100,000 by 1 January 2024.

You can donate on the crowdfunding campaign page by clicking here https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/nuclear-veterans-case/. Please share on Facebook and Twitter, to generate even more donations and awareness of this excellent cause.

Thank you for your support.