§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, in view of the recent awards of special pensions for ill health suffered as a result of exposure to radiation during the British nuclear tests in the 1950s, he will as a matter of urgency review his policy towards the payment of compensation to those former service personnel who have suffered ill health as a result of their involvement in these tests.
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§ Mr. SainsburyThe decision to review claims for war pensions from those former Service men suffering leukaemia (excluding chronic lymphatic) and multiple myeloma stems from the provision in the war pensions legislation that harm may be regarded as attributable to service factors if there is reliable evidence of reasonable doubt. The possibility of such doubt was caused by the identification in the recent study by the National Radiological Protection Board of a small number of extra cases of these diseases in participants in the nuclear test programme compared with the control group. However, in the absence of more conclusive evidence that these diseases are actually linked to participation, especially with exposure to radiation, even on a balance of probabilities, the Government cannot agree to the payment of any special compensation, since this would require much firmer evidence than is required by the "reasonable doubt" provision in war pensions legislation.