Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the Government (a) issuing an official apology and (b) providing compensation to Britain's nuclear test veterans.

The Government continues to recognise and be grateful to all Service personnel who participated in the British Nuclear testing programme. They contributed to keeping our nation secure during the Cold War and since, by ensuring that the UK was equipped with an appropriate nuclear capability

A commemorative Nuclear Test Medal was announced by the Prime Minister in November 2022, to recognise Service veterans and civilian personnel who participated in the UK’s atmospheric nuclear test programme between 1952 and 1967.

Since the 1980’s, the Ministry of Defence has commissioned and published four independently-conducted and analysed longitudinal studies of 20,000 Nuclear Test Veterans. These compared cancer and mortality rates between Nuclear Test Veterans and age- and gender-matched contemporary control groups, both within the UK Armed Forces and the general population. The results of these studies have consistently demonstrated that cancer and mortality rates for the Nuclear Test Veterans are similar to those serving contemporaneously in the UK Armed Forces who did not participate in the testing programme, and lower than for the general population.

Any veteran, including those of the Nuclear Tests, who believes they have suffered ill-health due to service has the right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pension Scheme if they served before 6 April 2005. War pensions are payable in respect of illness or injury as a result of service in the Armed Forces, with the benefit of reasonable doubt always given to the claimant. Decisions are medically certified and follow consideration of available service and medical evidence and carry full rights of appeal to an independent Tribunal.