Nuclear veterans' medical record handling haphazard, report finds
An official report reveals that Cold War-era secrecy led to the haphazard management of medical records for UK nuclear test veterans. The findings highlight the difficulty veterans face in proving health claims for compensation due to fragmented record-keeping.
Why it matters
It addresses long-standing grievances of military personnel seeking accountability and compensation for potential health impacts from historical nuclear testing.
Image caption, Nuclear test veterans met then Labour opposition leader, Sir Keir Starmer, in 2021, campaigning for full disclosure of the impact of the UK's nuclear bomb testing programme.
Newsnight political editor Published 2 hours ago High levels of Cold War "secrecy" were a factor in the haphazard approach taken towards the medical records of nuclear test veterans, an official report has found.
The lack of a centralised approach means that the system will appear "complex and inconsistent" to the veterans who have been campaigning for the full release of their medical records.
The findings come in a series of official documents released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in response to years of campaigning by the veterans.
Andy Burnham spoke up in favour of the nuclear test veterans on Tuesday evening in his first speech in parliament since his re-election last month, endorsing their call for a "special tribunal".
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