§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the research conducted by the Medical Education Department of Dundee University into atomic test veterans' health; [23798]
(2) what recent communications his Department has had with the Australian Government concerning the study being undertaken by Dr. Rabbitt-Roff of Dundee University on the effects on British veterans' health of the atmospheric atomic tests conducted by the United Kingdom in Australia. [23809]
§ Mr. SpellarI assume that the hon. Member is referring to the research work undertaken on behalf of the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association by Dr. Rabbitt-Roff. There is no substantive evidence in her work which would undermine in any way our total confidence in the conclusions of the report published by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) in 1993 which were that participation in the testing programme had not had a detectable effect on the participants' expectation of life or on their risk of developing cancer or other fatal diseases. Unlike the620W NRPB findings, which were published in the British Medical Journal, the BNTVA's studies have not been peer reviewed and published in scientific journals.
My Department has not discussed this matter with the Australian Government.