MoD secrecy blamed for missing nuclear veterans' records
The Ministry of Defence has admitted Cold War secrecy led to the loss of medical records for nuclear test veterans, complicating the government's defence against potential compensation claims.
The UK Ministry of Defence has released five reports acknowledging that Cold War secrecy contributed to a haphazard approach to storing the medical records of nuclear test veterans. The documents reveal a fragmented system that complicates the state's defence against potential financial liabilities.
The findings carry direct implications for public finances, as veterans rely on these documents to claim no-fault compensation under the War Pensions Scheme. The reports also note that military authorities were aware at the time of the tests that they might face future liability for compensation claims.
The MoD explained there has never been a single store of records for service personnel because the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force were run by separate government departments until 1964. The report states this structural gap means the records will appear "complex and inconsistent" to veterans seeking access.
National security considerations during a period of high geopolitical tension further influenced what was recorded. The disclosure that some veterans' medical records may have been inadvertently destroyed in 2023 adds to the administrative chaos. A batch of 34 RAF records was automatically deleted because missing dates of birth were logged as 1800 and 1900, triggering a system purge for records over a century old.
Veterans need records of blood and urine tests taken during the testing programme to prove their health was damaged by radiation. While blood tests were standard to assess fitness and establish radiation baselines, the MoD found no overall policy for urine testing. In most cases, the crucial records no longer exist.
The MoD maintains that independent research shows mortality and cancer rates among these veterans are similar to matched service personnel and lower than the general population. Brian Unthank, a nuclear veteran, dismissed the findings: "My take on it is it is going to turn out to be a total whitewash as usual. My understanding is there's no comments about the missing medical records, the compensation, a lot of other things. So it has been cut to the bare minimum I think."
The actual number of UK participants in the testing programme between 1952 and 1967 may be 15% higher than the estimated 21,357, reaching nearly 25,000 people. Andy Burnham endorsed the veterans' call for a "special tribunal" in his first parliamentary speech since his re-election.
