HC Deb 20 January 1999 vol 323 cc461-2W
Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state his policy in respect of the application by Fijian veterans for compensation for the effects on their health of their exposure to atmospheric nuclear tests on Christmas Island. [66428]

Mr. Spellar

My Department has not received any claims for compensation from Fijian veterans. At the time of the tests, precautions were taken to safeguard the health of those in the area. The effectiveness of these precautions is borne out by independent studies of the health of British nuclear test veterans undertaken by the National Radiological Protection Board and Imperial Cancer Research Fund, which found no evidence of excessive illness or mortality among the veterans as a group which could be linked to their participation in the tests or to exposure to radiation as a result of the tests.