THE PROOF, MR HOON

A-bomb veterans have invited Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon to a Sunday Mirror-sponsored rally at the Grand Committee Room of the House of Commons at 4pm on Nov 25.

-VETERANS and families who wish to attend should contact Mrs Sheila Gray on 01642 559903.

THE Government was under growing pressure to act last night after a damning dossier on the suffering of Britain's A-bomb veterans was handed to Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon.

The 35-page report was presented to Mr Hoon by the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association.

The dossier - based on a Sunday Mirror study and backed by top scientific and legal experts - challenges the Government's claims that servicemen who witnessed 1950s A-bomb tests in the Pacific Islands did not suffer lasting harm.

Our study provides the clearest proof yet that a genetic curse has been passed down through generations, with children and grandchildren of servicemen suffering deformities and disease.

We launched our campaign for justice for the veterans six weeks ago, showing how hundreds of servicemen present at the tests later contracted illnesses and died young.

Leukaemia levels among their families are six times the national average in our study, while Downs Syndrome cases are seven times the norm. Serious birth defects, mental handicaps, heart problems and spina bifida cases are three times the average. Our campaign caused an outcry and led to MP and peers tabling Parliamentary questions.

A Commons motion demanding compensation for the victims and a thorough study of new evidence has been backed by almost 80 MPs.

A Westminster rally has also been organised for Monday November 25 by Labour MP Dr Ian Gibson. Hundreds of veterans and their families will demand that Cabinet Ministers make good their promises in Opposition to compensate A-test victims.

Last night the Ministry of Defence said the dossier would be sent to a panel of scientific experts for "independent review". It was handed over by veteran Don James, 64, who said: "It's time the Government faced up to its responsibilities. All we want is recognition and justice. Too many men and too many of their children have already suffered."

The study has already been examined by independent statistician John Urquhart who was the first to identify leukaemia clusters in children living near the Sellafield nuclear plant in Cumbria.

He said our investigation was as important as the Sellafield inquiry. Mr Urquhart added: "The figures provided in this report suggest a causal link between the conditions of the grand children and their grandfather's participation in the 1950s tests.

"They also raise fundamental questions about the nature of genetics and exposure to radiation which have not been examined before. They have important implications for the long-term genetic health of the British population."

Leading geneticist Dr Rosalie Bertell says in the dossier: "The Sunday Mirror has provided a very impressive and frightening look at the reality of what happens when men are exposed to radioactive fall- out.

"This study indicates that trust in experts, especially those experts with vested interests, is not a good way to run civilian regulatory agencies or hazardous materials testing in the military."

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