Tom Watson: Honour nuclear bomb veterans with medals
Tom Watson has called for veterans of Britain's first nuclear bomb to be honoured with a medal.
The deputy Labour leader said it was time Britain acknowledged the sacrifice of soldiers who witnessed the explosion of the hydrogen bomb, which formed part of Operation Grapple at the height of the Cold War in the 1950s.
More than 20,000 servicemen were sent to Christmas Island in the South Pacific to witness the test, and their only protection from the 2.8 megaton bomb was being told to turn away and cover their eyes.
Grapple was said to be 100 times more powerful than the atomic blast which levelled Hiroshima in 1945.
West Bromwich East MP Mr Watson is supporting a parliamentary petition calling for Britain to honour its nuclear test veterans.
He said of the soldiers: "Some died early. Others suffered decades of illness. Their wives report three times the usual rate of miscarriages.
"Their children report 10 times the usual number of birth defects. Scientists recently developed tests that might prove the veterans were poisoned.
"But today there are few veterans left to take part in the research. Every nuclear power on Earth, except Britain, accepts it exposed servicemen to radiation.
"It is time we acknowledged their sacrifice. Let's show some decency. It is time to honour these nuclear test veterans, service personnel, with a medal."
The British Nuclear Testing Programme ran between 1952 and 1967, and was the largest Tri-Service operation since the D-Day landings.
Visit www.petition.parliament.uk/petitions/220170 to sign the petition.
