Ministry of Defence ordered handy over nuclear veteran’s blood checks to household

The Ministry of Defence has been ordered by a choose handy over the blood checks of a nuclear veteran to his household.

The MoD spent greater than a 12 months combating the family members of Squadron Leader Terry Gledhill, who wished to see if blood samples taken earlier than and after he flew via 5 mushroom clouds led to his later many years of ailing well being. Terry died in 2015, however his daughter Jane O’Connor argued that, as his executor, she was in a position to train his authorized rights to see the blood check outcomes. Now a Freedom of Information tribunal has dominated in her favour.

“I’m over the moon, and I hope dad would be proud of me. As an officer he always wanted to take care of his men, and with this we’ve set a precedent which could mean other families can likewise see the blood tests of their fathers too,” she mentioned. The MoD has a month to attraction the ruling, and was contacted for remark.

In 2018 the MoD informed Parliament it had “no information” about blood testing that was ordered to be carried out on journeys on the nuclear weapon checks, which have been carried out in Australia and the Pacific between 1952 and 1967. Then in 2022 we revealed a 1958 high secret Atomic Weapons Establishment memo about Sqn Ldr Gledhill’s blood checks, discussing “gross irregularity” and saying additional checks can be taken.

Campaigners have since uncovered repeated orders for blood checks to be carried out on 1000’s of servicemen over greater than a decade, within the military, navy and air pressure. Since then dozens of family members have utilized to the AWE for his or her fathers blood or urine checks, solely to be informed they haven’t any proper to see them, as the one laws that covers it covers information made after 1990. Now cross-party MPs are discussing a change to the regulation in order that information from earlier than that date could possibly be included.

The AWE has been compelled to confess in FOIs by the Mirror that it might maintain as much as 5,000 private blood checks. Although it insists none are individually identifiable, it says any particular person can request a replica of their very own. It has additionally admitted holding no less than 150 paperwork about blood and urine testing which have been withheld from the National Archives, together with different state secrets and techniques.

Defence minister Andrew Murrison has promised to overview the “tantalising” information, which have titles together with “blood count data”. But final week we revealed that solely seven AWE officers have safety clearance to see them, and his request to view them was being blocked.

A authorized case has been launched to pressure the MoD to the High Court for a choose to order full disclosure. To donate to the crowdfunder, go to: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/nuclear-veterans-case/