Report finds Cold War secrecy affected handling of nuclear test veterans' medical records

An official report has found that Cold War secrecy contributed to the haphazard management of medical records for UK nuclear test veterans.

• The Ministry of Defence released five reports acknowledging that a lack of centralised records and national security considerations impacted record-keeping.
• The report disclosed that some RAF medical records of test veterans may have been inadvertently destroyed in 2023 due to incorrect metadata.
• The number of UK personnel involved in the nuclear testing programme between 1952 and 1967 may be nearly 25,000, 15% higher than the previous estimate.
• Labour MP Andy Burnham endorsed a call for a special tribunal for nuclear test veterans during his first parliamentary speech since re-election.