Following the screening by BBC2 of the powerful documentary ‘Britain’s Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our story’, the UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities’ Spokesperson on Nuclear Test Veterans has made a direct appeal to the Prime Minister for justice. In his letter to Sir Keir Starmer, Councillor Tommy Judge, himself a military veteran, calls the denial of medical records, medical treatment and compensation to the veterans who participated in Britain’s atomic and nuclear bomb testing programme ‘Britain’s longest running scandal’.
In light of the recent showing of the documentary film, the advanced age of the veterans and the notice that they have now issued to the new government of their intention to take legal action, Councillor Judge calls on the Prime Minister to honour the commitment he reportedly made to “do all we for Britain's Cold War heroes” in agreeing to the veterans’ demands ‘as an early Christmas present!’
For more information, please email NFLA Secretary Richard Outram at
The letter to the Prime Minister reads:
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Of Great Britain,
The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP,
C/o The Prime Minister’s Office,
10 Downing Street,
London,
SW1A 2AA
28 November 2024
Dear Prime Minister
I am writing to you on behalf of the UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities as Spokesperson on Nuclear Test Veterans Affairs to ask you to finally end the injustice meted out to Britain’s community of atomic and nuclear test veterans, their family members, and descendants which has lasted over more than seven decades.
A great many Britons will have been horrified to have heard in the documentary aired by BBC 2 last Wednesday, ‘Britain’s Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our Story’, the first-hand testimonies of atomic nuclear bomb test veterans and the long-term and enduring impact that participation in these tests had on them and the families.
If you have not yet done so, may I urge you to watch it, as the footage represents a damning indictment of their treatment at the hands of the military and scientific community and successive governments: Britains Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our Story - BBC iPlayer
In February 2022, as Lord Mayor of Manchester, I was honoured to open a conference in our city organised by veterans’ campaign group, LABRATS International, held to publicise their fight for justice in advance of the 70th anniversary of the first UK atomic bomb test in October of that year. Present were veterans, wives, and family members whose lives were forever shattered by their experience of participating, directly or indirectly, in Britain’s atomic and nuclear weapons tests.
One after another the veterans on the stage spoke of participating in these tests without possessing full knowledge of the likely impact upon their health and without being provided with any protective clothing, they talked of their service mates who had died young and in agonising pain, and they told of their own prolonged and repeated ill-health, with all having suffered multiple cancers; wives told of their sleepless nights with husbands faced with recurring nightmares and their own personal anguish over whether to bear children not knowing if they would be born disabled or with life-changing illnesses; and the children present, now grown up, told of their grief at the early loss of their own fathers and the disabilities and illnesses that they were born with and now live with, one even reported that she had just received a terminal diagnosis.
These testimonies were harrowing. There was not a dry eye at the conference. All of them attributed their misfortune to exposure to radiation during, and following, these tests.
Around 22,000 British military personnel participated in the testing of atomic and hydrogen bombs in Australia and in the Pacific, and some were also present during a further phase of testing in Nevada. Less than 2,000 remain alive.
Although the last government finally awarded a Nuclear Test Medal to veterans and their descendants this is NOT enough. The claims of veterans for compensation for their suffering and their families; for access to their hidden medical records; and for specialist medical treatment were denied and continue to be denied by the current government.
I am a former soldier who faced danger serving in Northern Ireland during ‘the Troubles’. The danger I faced was the risk of death or injury from bullets and bombs. These veterans were also exposed to danger, but this was from the insidious menace of radiation which kills and debilitates those exposed to it over decades, but tragically often also impacts the health of their offspring.
These veterans are getting old. They cannot wait any longer for access to medical records, specialist medical treatment, and recompense. Mindful that time is running out and with their patience expired, LABRATS has placed the Labour Government on notice that they intend to pursue legal action to secure justice in 2025.
In June 2021, Mirror journalist Susie Boniface reporting of your meeting as Leader of the Opposition with LABRATS said you had pledged to ‘“do all we [Labour] can" to win recognition for Britain's Cold War heroes within a year [of taking office].’
Your Secretary of State for Defence recently stated that your government’s ‘commitment to the UK’s nuclear deterrent is absolute’, but the development of Britain’s atomic and nuclear weapons came at a terrible cost and the time is long overdue for the British state to make an ‘absolute commitment’ to the men who made the development and deployment possible, and by natural justice to their dependants.
Prime Minister, this is now Britain’s longest running scandal. You now have a historic opportunity to do the right thing and agree to the veteran’s demands as an early Christmas present! I would urge you to do so.
Thank you for taking time to read this letter. I would welcome your early response. Please reply by email to NFLA Secretary richard.outram@manchester.gov.uk
Thank you. Yours sincerely,
Councillor Tommy Judge, Spokesperson,
Nuclear Test Veterans Affairs,
For the UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities
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