Her death affected his brother Tony "very much… I think people have tended to underestimate the role my mother played in forming Tony's view of life. From Tony's perspective, I believe it was a combination of things that gave him the drive to succeed. The death of his mother affected him every bit as much as his father's stroke."
Tony Blair, for whatever reason, has chosen to ignore the possibility his family may have suffered. His spokeswoman when pressed for a comment derided it as “a silly season story”, and refused to comment further.
As the new millennium approached, the veterans received an unexpected windfall in the shape of a generous donation of £50,000 from distinguished British author Catherine Cookson.
This enabled them to fund a study by Dundee University into blood diseases among the veterans. The research uncovered evidence that many more veterans were stricken with blood cancers than NRPB studies had suggested. The Dundee research was backed up by death certificates and medical records, and blew a very big hole in Government’s entrenched position that veterans were not harmed by their participation in the tests.
But the NRPB, which by then was conducting its third study into the health of test veterans, was not impressed and issued a statement denouncing the research as ‘unscientific.’ It was a familiar mantra.
In 2000 Ken McGinley decided to step down as national chairman of the veterans association. He announced he would never give up the battle, but after 18 years he wanted to spend more time with his wife and daughter.
In truth he was exhausted by the internecine in-fighting that had broken out within the ranks of the association. Many members were openly voicing their disappointment about the way the organisation was being run, and of course the lack of progress being made.
McGinley was replaced by John Lowe, a mild-mannered former national service seaman who had witnessed the first Grapple tests at Maldon Island in 1957. He was joined by Jeff Liddiatt, who served with the RAF in Maralinga from 1959-1960.
Between them they managed to fill the vacuum caused by McGinley’s departure and prevent the organisation from imploding. They decided to adopt a quieter approach to the campaign, working behind the scenes to persuade MPs from all parties to support the cause. It was an uphill struggle.
SICK FAMILY SYNDROME
It was 2002, and figures released by the veterans showed they were dying off at the rate of three a month. They were limping into extinction. It took a brainwave from Fleet Street legend Richard Stott to put them back on the agenda.
Stott, who had edited three national newspapers during a distinguished career, had always been a supporter of the nuclear veterans and had used his newspapers to campaign on their behalf. One of his particular bailiwicks was the fate the children of the veterans, something that tended to be ignored by the rest of the media.
A campaign by one of Stott’s newspapers back in the 1980s had uncovered the scandal of the “Atom Bomb Kids” which identified hundreds of children as being affected by their father’s participation in the atomic bomb tests. Stott now wanted to find out if the “curse of the atom bomb” had reached across to the next generation.
Reporters launched a new investigation. Newspaper files and other research materials stretching back 20 years eventually identified 350 families of nuclear veterans who had complained about health problems in their children.
What was the fate of the grandchildren? Letters were sent; phone calls were made; reporters knocked on doors. The results were astonishing: 115 families of nuclear veterans were identified who had health problems in 169 of their grandchildren.
Their testimonies were shocking. Sicknesses such as leukaemia and other cancers were way above average; deformities, miscarriages, stillbirths and congenital illnesses were rife. Skin disease, eye problems, deafness and mental health issues were commonplace. It was as though the gene pool of entire generations had been contaminated.
Statistician John Urquhart, a government adviser on radiation issues, was asked to analyse the figures.
He calculated the leukaemia rates in the grandchildren were six times the national average. The number born with deformities and other crippling diseases were ten times the norm, and the figure for Down’s syndrome was seven times more than expected.
Seemingly, something terrible was happening in the families of nuclear veterans. A new pandemic was at work: a sick family syndrome threatening untold generations with disease and early death.
Prof Joseph Rotblat was among the first to comment: “This confirms our worse fears about what can happen if the DNA is damaged by radiation. These figures are extremely alarming. They should be published and discussed.”
Richard Stott excoriated the Government in an article in the mass circulation Daily Mirror newspaper: “How many more generations of the damned will our politicians allow to suffer before they accept the calamities of their predecessors and the consequences of their own cowardice?” he thundered. “In a very few years there will be no nuclear test veterans left, old soldiers are fading away fast now.”
There was an outcry. MPs tabled Parliamentary questions. A Commons motion demanding compensation for the victims and a thorough study of the new evidence was backed by 80 MPs.
Norwich Labour MP Dr Ian Gibson won the backing of MPs for an emergency Commons debate. He told the House: “For many, many years I have known of the hazards of radiation. I have met many people who were involved in the nuclear tests. I can see that they and their families are suffering from exactly the same long-term effects, in some cases lethal. From my knowledge of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there is a direct similarity in terms of genetic effects across generations. The problem is that the Government refuses to see what I regard as the clearest evidence.”
Veterans from all over the country converged on Parliament to listen to the emergency debate. Ken McGinley was persuaded to come out of retirement to add his weight, and was treated like a hero.
Hundreds stood outside waving placards. They had arrived in buses, cars, invalid carriages and even motor-cycle sidecar. They came on foot, on crutches and in wheelchairs. Many would have crawled there if no other transport had been available.
In the crowd was Shirley Denson whose RAF husband Eric died so tragically and Archie Ross with daughter Julie.
Since her experience in the pensions court, Mrs Denson had become one of the MoD‘s most implacable opponents. With her long hair flowing behind her, she had morphed into a Boadicea figure moving determinedly through the throng, chivvying the huddled pensioners and keeping up spirits.
At a noisy rally in a Commons committee room, Richard Stott and Dr Gibson, sharing a platform with John Urquhart and internationally-renowned nuclear expert John Large, gave rousing speeches and were rapturously cheered.
During the emergency debate that followed, defence minister for veteran’s affairs Dr Lewis Moonie floundered during intense questioning from MPs. In a bad-tempered debate he promised the latest evidence would be sent to “experts” for review.
The veterans were in ebullient mood. They believed they had the Government on the run. Many thought it was only a matter of time before victory was theirs. Dr Gibson said he had the ear of Tony Blair and was trying to arrange a meeting to discuss compensation. Was the long fight over at last?
Unfortunately the Ministry of Defence didn’t see it that way. After sitting on the dossier for several weeks, Mr Moonie replied. In a lengthy statement, he predictably questioned the scientific basis of the study, and produced a blizzard of statistics.
He wrote: “I have to say that our considered view is that the scientific basis of the study is highly questionable… the study is based on 350 families of British nuclear test veterans. It has to be said that the 350 families form a small sample group, given that there were in the region of 20,000 test veterans. Based on the average family size in the UK in the intervening years, it could be assumed that test veterans would have had about 50,000 children who would subsequently parent around 100,000 grandchildren…”