27 June 2023 , 09:32
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A bitter turf war has broken out in government over the long-fought for medal for nuclear test veterans.
Britain’s Cold War heroes finally won a gong last November, 70 years after they were first ordered to take part in nuclear weapons experiments.
But now it has been delayed without any explanation, and there are fears the veterans will not be able to wear it when they march at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday.
A source said: “There is a fight going on about this. The Office of Veterans Affairs wants it done, but the Ministry of Defence has pulled the handbrake.”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace meets nuclear veteran Ed McGrath after the medal announcement. Ed's granddaughter suffered a tumour he fears is linked to radiation from the tests (PA)Campaigner Alan Owen, who has spearheaded the medal campaign, said: “There has been a long and bloody battle between the veterans and the MoD over recognition, for decades. The PM overruled them to give us the medal, and now he needs to overrule them again if he wants to avoid protests at the Cenotaph.”
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He added: “Ben Wallace has ignored an invitation to meet us and talk about the ongoing issue of MoD staff illegally withholding the veterans’ medical records. That tells you everything.”
The medal can only be minted after the design is approved by government, and the King.
Asked about approval for the gong, a Cabinet Office source said it had yet to be signed off by Buckingham Palace. But a royal spokesman said: “This is a matter for government.”
Test veteran Eric Barton is comforted by Air Vice Marshal Maria Byford after being overcome by the medal announcement (PA)Parliament has been told the medal delivery date has been moved from “late summer” to autumn, but with no reason given.
Junior defence minister Andrew Murrison said yesterday they ought to get the medal by "November 22" - a year since the promise was made, but 10 days after the parade. He added that at Remembrance Sunday "they will be able to proudly wear what is due to them”.
But Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer earlier told Parliament: “I have made it very clear to officials, and I make it very clear to them again today, that I expect those medals to be on veterans’ chests on Remembrance Sunday this year. I will strain every sinew in government to make sure that happens.”
Following a Mirror campaign, it was Boris Johnson ’s last act in office to order a medal review, and one of Rishi Sunak ’s first to ask the king to approve it.
Johnson met campaigners in his Commons office last June, when veteran John Morris told him: "Give me a medal or tell me to sod off." (Andrew Parsons / No10 Downing Street)More than 1,000 veterans and another 500 families have applied for it so far, but eight months on from the announcement, survivors are dying while they await its appearance.
An unprecedented 50 test veterans have been invited to march along Whitehall this November, and with an average age of 85, for many it may be their last chance to do so.
At the same time, a £200,000 fund earmarked to “raise awareness” of nuclear testing has yet to be fully spent. Around £100,000 has been given to projects covering reunions and home adaptations, with another £70,000 for a project in which four groups of school children will interview four veterans about their experiences.
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But bids for projects with a bigger public footprint - exhibitions at air shows, educational visits to schools nationwide, and touring plays - were refused.
“They’ve only supported the things which, if you were a veteran, you knew about already,” said one who missed out. “They have refused to fund all the projects which would have told the wider general public about the nuclear tests and the impact. And there’s still £30,000 unspent.”
A Cabinet Office spokesman said other bids were still being considered.
A MoD spokesman told the Mirror “there is no delay”, but letters from the MoD to veterans tell them “the timescale has been revised”.