The Mirror can reveal proof that the Atomic Weapons Establishment and the Ministry of Defence worked together in the longest scandal in British history to cover it up
New documents show the British government cursed its troops with lifelong horrors of radiation, and repeatedly covered it up.
Servicemen ordered to witness nuclear weapon tests were exposed to fallout in areas declared clean by scientists who knew they were toxic. Fallout was found in the fish they ate, the seas they swam in, the water they drank, and the air they breathed.
The data was covered up at least 15 times, and hidden behind national security. Every time it should have come to light it was suppressed again – most recently in 2014. Now The Mirror, which has campaigned for these men for 40 years, reveals proof that the Atomic Weapons Establishment and the Ministry of Defence colluded in the longest scandal in British history.
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Alan Owen, of campaign group LABRATS, said: “This scandal has driven thousands to their graves. Men with cancer, children with inherited disease, and higher rates of suicide in every generation because of the lies. Keir Starmer’s government has a duty to make amends, but for thousands it is too late.”
Readings gathered at Christmas Island in the Pacific, where troops were based during nine nuclear tests in 1957 and 1958, showed inhabited areas were contaminated. Fish were up to seven times more radioactive than the natural background, more than 20 miles from the blast zone.
A whistleblowing report handed to the Mirror says: “The information would potentially overturn the accepted and previously reported information provided by Her Majesty’s Government in judicial proceedings… If the importance of this data is identified by others, there is potential for substantial damage to the reputation of AWE, MoD, and HMG.”
The data was passed to the MoD at the time, which was fighting a landmark war pensions case brought by 1,000 veterans and widows, but the court was never told. In 2016, judges ruled against a payout, saying checks “never revealed any measurable radiation… We are sure that there was no widespread deposition on land”.
Veteran John Morris worked in the laundry washing contaminated uniforms. He has survived cancer, had a blood condition for more than 60 years, lost a son at four months, and been denied a war pension. John, 88, of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, said: “I always knew we were surrounded by radiation, but to finally be vindicated after decades is like winning the lottery and losing the ticket at the same time. In Opposition Keir Starmer told us ‘your campaign is our campaign’, now our scandal is his scandal, it’s up to him to fix it.”
The discovery could lead to multibillion-pound payouts across the Commonwealth, with implications for Britain’s relationship with Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Canada, who sent troops to take part. Indigenous people were also affected. Lawyers acting for the veterans have made an official complaint to Thames Valley Police, urging them to investigate possible crimes of perjury, perverting the course of justice, misconduct in public office, and conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.
Solicitor Jason McCue said: “This strikes at the heart of the rule of law. The PM must ensure the truth is dragged into the light, and give insiders the protection to speak out. He must fast-track the special inquiry veterans demand, and the police must ensure those responsible are brought to justice.”
Thames Valley was already considering charges of misconduct over the withholding of medical information behind national security. A spokesman said: “We are in the latter stages of our detailed assessment into a dossier of information received in relation to allegations of misconduct in public office. We can confirm we have recently received new information, which will form part of our final assessment.”
Ministers are scrabbling to uncover who knew, and come up with a remedy to avert the legal bill to overturn seven decades of inquests, war pensions and court claims. A MoD spokesman said: “The document referred to is an unfinished draft and never finalised. It was not tasked by the AWE or the MoD and, as such, is not a formal company record.”
In 2014, a member of the public asked AWE for original data on radiation monitoring. He was sent two pieces of paper, one with instructions from scientists to monitor fish “to refute unfavourable propaganda”. The other was a list of radiation readings from fish caught by sailors aboard HMS Warrior after one weapon test, codenamed Grapple Short Granite, in May 1957.
AWE began a behind-the-scenes review of what else was held. Two staff produced a “whistleblower” report, saying even more data existed on a top secret database. It proved radiation was recorded in inhabited areas after four blasts. An estimated 10,000 troops based on Christmas Island ate seafood at least once a week, swam and drank desalinated seawater.
Prof Tim Mousseau, a biologist at South Carolina University, said: “Some isotopes from nuclear weapons, like strontium and plutonium, can bioaccumulate in the food chain and reach significant levels in people consuming marine products. The ingestion could be sufficient to trigger a cell transformation that leads to a cancer.”
The AWE has confirmed the report was shared with the MoD, but said the draft was never finalised and was the authors’ views. Tory grandee Sir John Hayes, who was a Cabinet Office minister dealing with a nuclear veterans benevolent fund in 2014, said he was never told.
He said: “It is disgraceful this information was not made available, not least to veterans. I suspect officials have withheld the details from ministers for years, which has only made the scandal worse. It is imperative the Defence Secretary make a statement to Parliament explaining why it has been misled for so long, and how he will fix the scandal that has blown up on his watch.”
Following the tests, weapon scientists assured Parliament and allies no contamination had been found. Other documents from 1957 show scientists referring to considerable nervousness about the effect on fish but saying the results were “entirely reassuring”.
The AWE published a whitewash report in 1993, later given to judges as authoritative evidence, stating “no activity was found”. The lies were uncovered after a tip-off to lawyers fighting for veterans to access their medical records. The AWE said the 2014 report did not exist, but it was found on internal servers in “draft”.
At the time it was written, AWE was run as a government-owned business in which the Defence Secretary held a “golden share”. Former Tory MP Sir Michael Fallon, who held the role at the time the report was produced, did not respond to requests for comment.
