§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many claims for compensation by veterans of the British nuclear tests are currently pending; what action he is taking on their cases; what factors are delaying his making of a final decision; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HanleyFive such claims are pending. They are being examined in the usual way, to establish whether there is any evidence of exposure to radiation, and if so whether this caused any subsequent disease. So far, however, no case of death or disease among British nuclear test veterans has been shown to have resulted from radiation from the tests.
Successive British Governments have explained that almost all the personnel involved received little or no radiation from the tests. If these assurances were wrong and people actually had been subjected to substantial additional radiation, medical experts would expect to find an excess of total cancer deaths subsequently. But 364W according to the study published in 1988 by the National Radiological Protection Board, the total incidence of death and malignant disease has been no greater among test veterans than for people who were not involved in the tests. We know of no new evidence that would change this position.