About 1,000 former servicemen are suing the Ministry of Defence for the health problems they've suffered from, they claim, nuclear tests carried out in the 1950s. BBC NEWS | Magazine | Cold War in paradise BBC - Today
I had actually seen some footgae of such tests being done, my biggest fear in life when it comes to other people is having servicemen being tested upon. I hope these guys win, although money is probably little compensation for what they had to go through. Reminds me of a similar case in Canada where during the Vietnam war the government was testing the "Agent" family of chemicals in the East on civilian populations by the looks of it, seems like only the States compensated for those affected but the Canadian government has yet to follow suite.
It seems a bit bizarre that the government is saying their claims are to late and it all happened to long ago for them to be able to claim.
The goverment have never been very good at resolving cases like this Christmas Island - was that the test location ? Yes - this one has been running since the 1980's at least - shame on the goverment of the day then and hopefully the present goverment will do something for these men.
I wonder if these Royal Marines could sue for having LSD tested on them? Commando's on LSD I learnt about this when I was on a NBC Instructors Course. They showed us some footage of Austrailian Troops going over a Obstacle Course after they had been exposed to a Blister Agent too.
The government have never been very good at resolving cases like this Christmas Island - was that the test location ? Yes - this one has been running since the 1980's at least - shame on the government of the day then and hopefully the present government will do something for these men. I believe that other countries have paid out already, but here is yet another example of heels being dragged, no doubt in the expectation that the 'problem' will eventually go away. Convenient for them that the symptoms developed years after the possible cause and so outside the time period. I hope the ruling IRO the time-bar will be a positive one for the veterans and their families, and that they will have their day in court. D
When men die the claim dies with them , harder for a relative to make a case. I recall it from the 1980's and am disgusted that today it still is dragging on.
I believe that other countries have paid out already, but here is yet another example of heels being dragged, no doubt in the expectation that the 'problem' will eventually go away. Convenient for them that the symptoms developed years after the possible cause and so outside the time period. I hope the ruling IRO the time-bar will be a positive one for the veterans and their families, and that they will have their day in court. D They definitely deserve that DBF. Its disgraceful that it has dragged on this long - how do you make a case for the defense on this one?
They definitely deserve that DBF. Its disgraceful that it has dragged on this long - how do you make a case for the defense on this one? GH, Rhetorical I know, but, simply they are hoping to avoid having to make one. If their case is time-barred then MOD have nothing to answer. If not, the onus is then on the servicemen to prove a conclusive link. One of the articles says that the medical testing has only just come into play this past few years. Strangely, there was mention of MOD being 'interested' in the cases of children of servicemen. I could be very cynical about that ... D Quote I found on a site linked to the missing POW thread: "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country", George Washington
There have been about 1000 above ground atomic explosions since WW2. Close to 500 were in the western USA not far from Las Vegas and other settlements in Nevada and Utah etc. About another 500 were at sites scattered all over the USSR. About a dozen or so were at the Monte Bello Islands and Maralinga etc in Australia. AFAIK no servicemen were within some miles of the explosion and only a few were in experiments that took them anywhere near ground zero of them. Some RAF and RAAF planes flew through the 'mushroom clouds', and they certainly may have been effected. Many surviving residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki returned to the rubble of their cities simply because they had nowhere else to go, and most survived OK. I think I smell the magic word 'Compensation'. John.
When men die the claim dies with them , harder for a relative to make a case. I recall it from the 1980's and am disgusted that today it still is dragging on. The Government always appears to make life so difficult for claimants that they will give up all hope. Proceedings are so protracted that during the passage of time the claimants slowly dwindle down due to passing away. The end result is that the Government saves money. How many times have the public seen this happen before? There appears to be no Government accountability or transparencies in these cases. Regards Tom
It does seem strange as they have held their hands up to Asbestos. I don't know the full circumstances but may Dad worked with it as a Engineer in the Navy and after the war in Power Stations. His Best Man died of Asbestosis and was compensated when he was diagnosed. Fortunately my Dad was given the all clear a few years back. Cheers Andy
BBC NEWS | UK | Nuclear veterans 'merit pay-out' Britain is out of step with governments around the world who have compensated nuclear test veterans who fell ill, the High Court has heard. Benjamin Browne QC, representing 1,000 ex-servicemen, said science has made a link between health and their role in the 1950s tests in the South Pacific. He said veterans were told to wait for compensation until a link was found and were now being told they were too late. The Ministry of Defence says it compensates when liability is proven. Ex-servicemen want compensation for illnesses, including cancer, skin defects and fertility problems, they claim are the result of exposure to radiation during nuclear bomb testing. But MoD lawyers are trying to derail their claims before they reach a full hearing, by arguing the tests happened too long ago for compensation to be considered....
MOD's press release, further links on the right-hand side. Ministry of Defence | About Defence | What we do | Health and Safety | Nuclear Tests | UK Atmospheric Nuclear Testing Programme The latest report, NRPB-W27 entitled "Mortality and Cancer Incidence 1952-1998 in UK Participants in the UK Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Tests and Experimental Programmes", was published in 2003 and concluded that overall levels of mortality and cancer incidence among nuclear weapons test participants have continued to be similar to those in a matched control group, and for overall mortality to be lower than expected from national rates. The MOD has every confidence in these independent studies, and therefore believe that there are no grounds for compensation to be paid to British nuclear test veterans. However, where individual veterans are able to produce reliable evidence to raise a reasonable doubt that their illness is related to their service, they are entitled to a War Pension.
Thinking further on this I wonder if the 'Crown Exempt Rules' apply or have some part in this. Cheers Andy
I remember an anecdote about an Avro Shackleton sent up to conduct tests after a Christmas Island test , and had to be decomtaminated afterwards ....by RAF Airman in shorts with mops and buckets ! well they were only National service men after all !
It does seem strange as they have held their hands up to Asbestos. I don't know the full circumstances but may Dad worked with it as a Engineer in the Navy and after the war in Power Stations. His Best Man died of Asbestosis and was compensated when he was diagnosed. Fortunately my Dad was given the all clear a few years back. My Grandad - the Arnhem veteran one - drove lorries for HM Dockyard after the war, and part of his job was dumping asbestos. He was diagnosed with Asbestosis when he was 72, and he lasted less than a year. This was when the MOD were finally starting to hold their hands up about asbestos. The family did make some enquiries but were told that as he was a heavy smoker the MOD would likely argue that this could have contributed to his illness. As his death certificate recorded 'carcinoma of lung/industrial disease', the exact cause of death would have been open to debate. As he showed no interest in compensation when he was alive, it was felt that chasing the money wouldn't have been right and probably would have caused all kinds of family rifts anyway. My Dad can remember working in the Dockyard when they still had some asbestos on ships in the 70's, by then they knew that it was dangerous but hadn't publicly admitted to it. A few of the older blokes my dad knew who worked in the yard in the 50's and 60's have died from it. Is the MOD slow at recognising where it has mistreated servicemen/employees regarding dangerous subtances, radiation etc? I think it would be hard to argue otherwise.
Is the MOD slow at recognising where it has mistreated servicemen/employees regarding dangerous subtances, radiation etc? They aren't slow its just constantly ongoing
They aren't slow its just constantly ongoing thats what happens when lawyers and central government civil servants hook up
