Starmer promises to meet nuclear test veterans

Sir Keir Starmer was presented with a video message from nuclear test veteran John Morris

Sir Keir Starmer has promised to meet veterans of Britain's Cold War nuclear weapons testing programme "hopefully by the end of the year".

The Prime Minister, speaking to BBC Breakfast, was presented with a video message from 87-year-old John Morris, who witnessed four hydrogen bomb tests when he was 18.

Mr Morris, from Rochdale, is one of a group of veterans who say the radiation they were exposed to in the 1950s caused many of them severe health problems - and who have accused the Ministry of Defence (MOD) of a cover-up.

Starmer told the BBC: "I will meet John, I have met the veterans before, but that is no reason not to meet them again."

When it was put to him that some of the veterans had made repeated attempts to get in touch since the election, Starmer replied: "I don't know anything about that, but I will now follow up."

Mr Morris told BBC Breakfast he believed that Starmer was "very sincere" and praised him for meeting him and other veterans as Leader of the Opposition in 2021.

John Morris has suffered a litany of serious health problems

However he said: "There was one particular thing that [Starmer] did say; he was unaware that we'd been trying to get in touch with him.

"And that is the fact of the establishment. The establishment are stopping messages getting through that they think the Prime Minister will not want to hear."

Mr Morris was 18 when he was sent to Christmas Island in the Pacific, where he witnessed four hydrogen bomb tests.

He previously said he was wearing nothing more than shorts, a shirt and sunglasses even though he was positioned less than 20 miles (32km) away from the explosions.

Mr Morris believes the radiation he was exposed to has caused him devastating health problems including pernicious anaemia, bone marrow deficiency and cancer.

The average age of the veterans, many of whom have since died, is 87 and Mr Morris said many of his own troop have died from cancer.

John Morris (far left) met Sir Keir Starmer alongside other nuclear veterans in 2021

He has also expressed his belief that the radiation contributed to the death of his four-month-old son Steven, who was found dead in his cot in 1962.

After listening to Starmer's words, he said: "It is wonderful to hear.

"The sad part is, I have listened to eight prime ministers since John Major. Most of them have promised to meet us.

"The question is when?"

Earlier this year the veterans, alongside Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, handed in a 500-page dossier of evidence collated by the Mirror newspaper to the Metropolitan Police.

They claim the MoD's actions amount to potential misconduct in public office with a cover-up of radiation experiments - a claim the department refutes.

A mushroom cloud rises over the Pacific moments after the detonation of Britain's second hydrogen bomb in 1957

Alan Owen, founder of the charity LABRATS which represents veterans, scientists, civilians and their families who have been affected by the nuclear testing programme, said he "could not believe" the government were unaware of requests to meet the PM.

He said: "That just shows how much, as John says, the establishment is blocking us from getting to the very top."

LABRATS is preparing to launch a civil legal action against the MoD, claiming it continues to conceal their health records.

The MoD has said it has commissioned "comprehensive" work to examine the questions over medical records.

It previously told the BBC: "It will enable us to better understand what information the department holds in relation to the medical testing of service personnel who took part in the UK nuclear weapons tests, ensuring that we can be assured that relevant information has been looked at thoroughly."