Former defence minister alleges MOD cover-up over nuclear test veterans' records
Tobias Elwood, a former veterans minister, says the MOD deliberately withheld medical records of nuclear test veterans and gave him false lines for Parliament.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A former defence minister has accused the Ministry of Defence of a cover-up over the medical records of British nuclear test veterans, saying officials deliberately withheld information and gave him lines to deliver in Parliament that he now believes were lies.
Tobias Elwood, who served as veterans minister under Theresa May, told BBC Two's Newsnight that the MOD had hidden records of blood and urine tests taken from servicemen who witnessed nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s. Around 22,000 UK Armed Forces personnel, scientists and civilians took part in the testing programme at sites including Australia and Pacific islands. Many veterans and their children have suffered serious ill health, which they believe was caused by radiation exposure.
Elwood said he was first alerted to the existence of the records by investigative journalist Susie Boniface, who has covered the story for more than 20 years and uncovered documents showing blood tests that the MOD claimed it did not have. He described the treatment of veterans as an institutional failure, saying: "I believe that the nuclear test veterans have been institutionally let down by the Ministry of Defence."
He explained that in 2005, around 1,000 veterans and widowers took the MOD to court seeking compensation. The MOD then instructed the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) to find any documents related to the tests between 1952 and 1967. They found 28,000 documents, which were compiled into a database called Merlin. Elwood said the MOD used that information to push back on the veterans' case and win it, while continuing to tell ministers that no records existed.
Elwood admitted that when he stood in Parliament in 2018 as veterans minister, he answered a question by saying there were no records available. He said: "I now realise that that was a complete lie. It was misleading the veterans. It was misleading parliament." He insisted he was given the line to take by MOD officials, and that this had been the pattern for decades. Asked whether he had been lied to, he said the information was deliberately withheld, adding: "So you can call it that if you like."
He also noted that the documents were classified because they related to the explosions themselves, and that the AWE had refused to share them. He said the new government has now reviewed the matter and plans to move the documents to the National Archives, but they must first be redacted and declassified. He argued this is not enough to help the veterans, who need an independent tribunal to determine what happened.
Independent studies commissioned by the MOD have found no valid evidence linking participation in the tests to ill health. But veterans and their families have long disputed this, and Elwood's allegations add fresh weight to their campaign for recognition and compensation.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC Two |
|---|---|
| Elwood claimed the MOD deliberately withheld information from him and other ministers. | |
| The MOD instructed the Atomic Weapons Establishment to find nuclear test documents from 1952 to 1967, and 28,000 were found. | |
| The MOD used the documents to win the veterans' court case. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The channel focused on the personal testimony of Tobias Elwood, his admission that he had delivered misleading statements in Parliament, and the broader institutional failure he described. It also included a clip from a previous interview with a veteran to illustrate the human impact. The tone was investigative and critical of the MOD, with the presenter pressing Elwood on whether he had lied.
- “I believe that the nuclear test veterans have been institutionally let down by the Ministry of Defence.”
- “I now realise that that was a complete lie. It was misleading the veterans. It was misleading parliament.”
- “So you lied to veterans in the country in parliament? Well, I presented the line to take.”
Broadcast Timeline
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