Britain admits to exposing soldiers to radiation t

Britain admits to exposing soldiers to radiation tests
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Ministry of Defence admitted on Saturday it had used British and Commonwealth servicemen in radiation experiments in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s.

A spokesman for the ministry said 18 officers had been exposed to low-level radiation to test the effectiveness of protective clothing during a series of experiments in Australia.

But he denied the men had been used as guinea-pigs, saying every man had given his consent to the experiments.

The admission came after a researcher from Scotland's Dundee University unearthed documents which showed the ministry had tested men. The government has always previously denied any servicemen had been deliberately exposed to radiation.

"The UK nuclear test programme did not involve the deliberate exposure to radiation of service personnel without their prior knowledge and consent.

"The UK did conduct atmospheric nuclear tests in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s during which Commonwealth personnel participated in logistical support work.

"The purpose of the tests was to see how effective various pieces of protective clothing were."

He said the officers had been ordered to walk, run and crawl through contaminated nuclear test sites at Monte Bello Island off Western Australia and at Maralinga in the southern Australian desert in the 1950s.

However he said the 18 officers were provided with full training and badges to determine the extent of the protection from the clothing. They said all exposed skin was covered during the tests and the radiation doses were constantly monitored.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said his government would examine possible links between illnesses suffered by servicemen and exposure to radiation.

"I think where a clear connection can be made between servicemen and women suffering as a result of the tests and what happened during those tests, of course the federal government would look at those questions," he told the BBC.

Sue Rabbit Roff, of Dundee University, told the BBC: "I think there were clear reasons for doing these sort of experiments at the height of the cold war.

"The issue is that they (the British government) have always denied doing these experiments and they have never conducted any medical support or follow-up for the men who were involved in these experiments.

She said a total of 24 men from New Zealand, Australia and Britain had been tested, though the ministry put the figure at 18.