Nuked blood: Rishi Sunak is urged to uncover the truth on missing health records
Rishi Sunak has been told to fix his "broken promises" to nuclear test veterans by telling Parliament the full truth of their missing medical records.
Labour and Tory MPs have asked the Defence Select Committee to hold its own inquiry into the blood tests that Cold War veterans say are being illegally withheld from them.
Labour peer Lord Watson of Wyre Forest has written to the Prime Minister asking him to correct Ministry of Defence claims in Parliament that it does not hold the blood data, and fulfil the promise made last year to meet the test veterans in person.
"Given the series of misleading statements, broken promises, and unwarranted delays, the onus rests upon the PM to rectify this matter," Lord Watson said.
" Boris Johnson demonstrated his unwavering dedication to honouring the service of these important veterans and there is an expectation that Rishi Sunak will continue where he left off."
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Sunak promised a proper meeting with campaigners when he announced the nuclear medal last November, but later said he was "too busy" to discuss their nuked blood claims (Reach Commissioned)Lord Watson added: "It is an affront to expect elderly veterans to navigate the labyrinthine corridors of the MoD, merely to ascertain partial truths."
It follows the Mirror's revelations yesterday that veterans' service records appear to have had health data, including blood and urine analysis which may have showed radiation damage during their time at the weapons tests, removed from the files.
It is potentially a criminal offence for any healthcare provider to withhold, falsify or destroy medical records, due to the likely impact on the health of patients who cannot later be properly diagnosed or treated.
Lord Watson says MoD responses to Parliamentary questions on the issue, since the Mirror first exposed the scandal last year, are "contradictory" and need urgent clarification. Meanwhile the Atomic Weapons Establishment, which is thought to have categorised the health records as scientific data, is embroiled in multiple appeals and file requests from veterans and their families under data protection and freedom of information laws.
Lord Watson said: "Their public stance on the extent of their holdings has undergone a metamorphosis, ranging from statements about the possession of 'a small number' of blood and urine tests last year, to 'one test' of 'one veteran', progressing further to the disclosure of 7 blood tests from one veteran, and finally culminating in the declaration of possessing no such records whatsoever."
Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck, who sits on the Commons defence committee, has urged it to consider launching an investigation. She said yesterday: "There is enough evidence to show blood tests were ordered, arranged, and taken, from large numbers of people. The results were stored and analysed. The veterans have always had a right to that information, and failing to provide it can cost lives.
“We must find out when and why they were removed from the medical records."
Support has come from Tory backbencher Dr Julian Lewis, on behalf of a test veteran constituent, who has asked the committee chairman Tobias Ellwood to question the MoD further.
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