Prime Minister Liz Truss has caved to the Mirror’s demands to mark the ‘Plutonium Jubilee’ with a £450,000 fund for nuclear test veterans.
The heroes of Britain’s Cold War radiation experiments and their families welcomed the news, but said it did not go far enough to address the tests’ legacy of cancers, early death and birth defects.
More than half the money – £250,000 – will go to an academic or cultural institution to record oral histories of survivors. The remaining £200,000 will be available for veterans’ charities to bid for.
But that will be equivalent to just £133 a head for the estimated 1,500 ex-servicemen still alive. Including the estimated 155,000 descendants, who suffer 10 times the normal rate of birth defects, it amounts to just £1.28 each.
The government will also host an event to “celebrate the unique and significant contributions of those involved in testing and developing our nuclear deterrent” later this year.
It was announced on the same day as the 70th anniversary of Operation Hurricane – the Plutonium Jubilee, which marks Britain’s first atomic bomb test.
Alan Owen, of campaign group LABRATS, said: “It’s very welcome news, and a direct result of the meeting we had with Boris Johnson following the Mirror’s Look Me In The Eye campaign.
“In fact, it was the Mirror that asked, in that meeting, for a ceremony of national acknowledgement to allay veterans’ anger, and that will be a huge leap forward if we get it. But this money is a pittance in the grand scheme of things, and there’s still no medal, no apology, no acknowledgement.”
The money won’t be available until April next year – and there are fears some survivors, who are now all in their 80s, may not benefit from it.
Veteran John Scully wrote on the Mirror's Justice for Nuclear Test Veterans Facebook page: "More waffle, throwing a few crumbs from the captain's table, avoiding the main thing of formerly recognising what we did, and failing to admit there was a significant risk to health during the test programme." Fellow survivor Ken Black called it "a despicable insult to us veterans".
Fiona Muir, whose veteran father died at the age of 45, said the announcement was "beyond insult" because of the loss and pain caused by the testing programme. "Shame on the government," she added.
Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans, James Heappey, said the test veterans “played a crucial role in keeping Britain and our NATO allies safe”.
He added: “Their sacrifice contributed to achieving the ultimate guarantee of UK sovereignty and they forever have this nation’s gratitude.
“I look forward to commemorating the incredible service and efforts of our veterans.”
The Mirror, which has fought for recognition of nuclear veterans for 40 years, launched a medal campaign in 2018. After a Whitehall committee turned down a gong three times, we demanded Boris Johnson meet veterans face-to-face.
Keir Starmer met them in July 2021, with metro mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram piling on the pressure that December. Boris finally held a meeting in June, saying the archives must be opened and proper recognition given.
But he resigned a month later, and his Veterans Affairs minister Johnny Mercer, who was working hard for the test vets, was sacked when the new PM entered Downing Street.
Yesterday, we reported how Mercer had joined forces with Labour’s Dan Jarvis to warn Truss she was at risk of “betraying” these heroes by failing to mark the Plutonium Jubilee, the 70th anniversary of Britain’s first bomb test.
No10 refused to comment on our story before publication, and issued a press release late on Sunday night revealing the £450,000 figure - but without telling veterans.
Mr Owen said: “We’ve been asking for information and detail for a month, since Boris promised it on the day he left office. There’s been nothing. For these men to be used by No10 in some sort of media game is insulting and not the right way for them to proceed.
“This is an apolitical, cross-party campaign, and this is a fight for justice.”
Truss has been invited to meet veterans - as Johnson and Starmer both have - five times.
