"Some 50 years ago thousands of excitable young servicemen landed on the white sands of a Pacific paradise to oversee Britain's testing of early nuclear bombs. But what happened next damaged them mentally and physically for life, some claim, and now they want to be compensated."
"He is convinced they were there as part of an experiment, a view shared by some fellow servicemen."
"Against a backdrop of de-colonisation and the growing threat of the Cold War, Britain was desperate to establish itself as a nuclear power. The tests, which encompassed six nuclear blasts in all, sent a message of might to the world. But the apparent lack of concern for the wellbeing of servicemen has left shockwaves of anger in some."
"It was all over in about 14 seconds, but Mr Hern, now 72, believes radiation exposure on that day and four others is behind his diabetes, the spurs growing on his sternum, and much worse, the death of his 13-year-old daughter from cancer."
"Their latest attempt to sue the British government goes before the High Court on Wednesday, when the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is expected to argue the claims have been brought too long after the events."
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7840594.stm
---
Views: This is absolutely disgusting, what's worse is that people have been fighting this for years. How can they continue to deny this. The fact that the MoD are going to argue on grounds of age of claims suggests that there is obviously something about this that the MoD don't like.
