British PM raises hope of action on Maralinga nuclear secrets

Boris Johnson has confessed to not knowing what or where Maralinga is, but has promised to look into releasing secret records.

A nuclear test at Maralinga, South Australia, in October 1956.

Boris Johnson has confessed to not knowing what or where Maralinga is, but has promised to look into unsealing secret records surrounding the British nuclear tests conducted on Australian soil during which thousands of workers were exposed to radiation.

More than 17,000 people were involved in the British military tests, which began 70 years ago at the Montebello Islands in Western Australia and were followed by tests at Maralinga in South Australia, as well as Maldon Island and Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean.

If the records are released it could pave the way for veterans and their families in Australia and the UK to seek compensation.

The British Prime Minister met family members and nuclear test veterans on Wednesday, some of whom believe their children’s health issues are a direct result of the nuclear tests.

Mr Johnson heard from Briton Steve Purse, 48, who has medical conditions attributed to his father David, who worked at the airfield at Maralinga.

The British government conducted nearly 600 experiments at this site from 1953 to 1963.

The Mirror newspaper reported that Mr Johnson told the gathering he did not know of Maralinga, saying: “Where? It’s not something I’ve been educated about before … it’s extraordinary.”

Mr Purse called for research into the hereditary illnesses of exposed workers, saying families were playing “genetic roulette”.

“My son is healthy now, but I worry about the future, and if he becomes ill I want him to have doctors who know what he has, and how to fix it,” he said.

John Morris, 84, said he had witnessed the detonation of four nuclear bombs in 1957. But his son, Steven, was found dead in his cot aged just four months and it took 60 years to access the autopsy which showed the baby had deformed lungs.

Mr Morris told Mr Johnson: “We protected this country by providing the nuclear deterrent, but we’ve been let down by successive governments. My wife and I were arrested on suspicion of murder, and I’ve had a lifetime of worry and illness. I had blood and urine taken, which is not in my medical records, and I’ve been refused a war pension.”

Mr Johnson appeared shocked that details of medical tests had not been provided.

“You’ve produced all sorts of evidence … we need to come back to you,” he said. “I was very surprised to hear when this was raised that something that hadn’t been done for you before.

“I simply can’t explain the shortage of medical records. I think that you’re right, there are things you are not being told and should be told. If it’s been hidden away, like in the Raiders of the Lost Ark, or stuff is being stashed in a vault or wherever, by the British government, that needs to be sorted out.”