Military veterans who claim they were negligently exposed to excessive radiation during nuclear tests in the 1950s won a high court case today permitting them to sue the Ministry of Defence, exposing the government to a potential compensation bill running into hundreds of millions of pounds.
A group of around 1,000 veterans of tests in the South Pacific and Australia between 1952 and 1958 launched the case as they believe radiation exposure caused illnesses including cancer and chromosome damage.
The MoD argued that the group had waited too long to lodge its claim and was thus excluded under limitations regulations. It also argued that the cases were certain to fail at any eventual trial.
But giving his verdict in the high court in London today, Mr Justice Foskett rejected these arguments, pointing to a recent scientific study involving veterans in New Zealand which provided new evidence of the potential health impact of the tests, which would be "crucial and pivotal" for any potential case against the MoD.
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