MoD in compensation claim battle
It has been revealed that the Ministry of Defence has launched a new legal battle in an attempt to deny compensation claims to thousands of veterans.
The new fight will cost £1 million and is a new option to deny justice to the survivors of Britain’s nuclear testing.
In 2009 more than 1,000 widows and veterans won a historic victory when a court ruled their £100 million personal injury claims could go ahead.
However, in a new bid to hinder these accident claims from achieving, MoD lawyers have launched an eight-day appeal against the decision which will delay the case by at least a year.
As a result, campaigners claim that the move is a cynical attempt to lower the compensation bill, because around three veterans die each week.
Between 1952 and 1967 an estimated 22,000 men were sent to witness nuclear tests in the US, Australia and the Pacific. Many allege they suffered from radiation exposure and have since died from deadly illnesses such as cancer.
Last year the High Court gave the victims the green light to a full trial, to which MoD barrister Charles Gibson, said the original judge had “erred in law” and the claim was “misconceived”.Updated on 11/05/2010