Key facts
- Former veterans minister Tobias Ellwood alleges the Ministry of Defence (MoD) deliberately withheld information regarding nuclear test veterans' medical records.
- Ellwood claims ministers were briefed to deny having evidence that could assist these veterans.
- Veterans argue that their medical histories, including blood and urine test results, could prove health damage from nuclear exposure.
- The MoD stated it conducted an extensive records discovery exercise and published its findings.
- The UK's nuclear testing programme involved up to 25,000 service members, scientists, and civilians between 1952 and 1967.
Former veterans minister Tobias Ellwood has accused the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of deliberately withholding information concerning the medical records of veterans who participated in the UK's nuclear testing programme.
Ellwood told BBC Newsnight that he now believes some information he provided to Parliament, based on MoD briefings, was inaccurate. He suggests that ministers over the years have been instructed to state they had no evidence to assist nuclear test veterans, as a strategy to delay until the veterans pass away.