The Tory government has admitted that the new medal for Britain's Cold War heroes will not go to some of those who ran the biggest risks.
Those who flew top secret missions through the nuclear weapons of foreign powers, decontaminated planes, and designed and built the weapons, have been barred from collecting the gong which will be delivered this summer.
Campaigner Alan Owen, who led the four-year fight for a medal in the name of his father, said: "We believe this decision came from the top - from the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace himself. The MoD looks spiteful and petulant because it blocked recognition for these men for so long, and it can't bear to do the right thing."
