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Lawyers have charged £16million in the battle to get justice for Britain's nuclear test veterans. The money has been spent by legal teams for the UK Ministry of Defence and the veterans during a fiercely contested High Court action. It means the final bill could be much higher than any com-pensation eventually received. The revelation comes after a judge told both sides, who are meant to have been negotiating a settlement for the past six months, to start talks. Some 22,000 men, who were sent to Australia and the South Pacific to witness atomic bomb tests, allegedly suffered a range of health problems. Many of the 3,000 survivors have joined together in a major legal case to sue the MoD for negligence. But the case has descended into farce, with the MoD claiming a confidential offer has been made, but vets' lawyers saying they haven't received one. The High Court was told on Friday that costs are already at £15m for the three-year case, with a further £1m expected to pay for an appeal brought by the MoD which will be heard in May.

Lawyers have charged £16million in the battle to get justice for Britain's nuclear test veterans. The money has been spent by legal teams for the UK Ministry of Defence and the veterans during a fiercely contested High Court action. It means the final bill could be much higher than any com-pensation eventually received. The revelation comes after a judge told both sides, who are meant to have been negotiating a settlement for the past six months, to start talks. Some 22,000 men, who were sent to Australia and the South Pacific to witness atomic bomb tests, allegedly suffered a range of health problems. Many of the 3,000 survivors have joined together in a major legal case to sue the MoD for negligence. But the case has descended into farce, with the MoD claiming a confidential offer has been made, but vets' lawyers saying they haven't received one. The High Court was told on Friday that costs are already at £15m for the three-year case, with a further £1m expected to pay for an appeal brought by the MoD which will be heard in May.

The government is refusing to back down over attempts to force it to compensate British nuclear test veterans. Armed forces minister Kevan Jones admitted he had sympathy for over 1,000 veterans of nuclear tests carried out in the 1950s who are seeking compensation. But he said their attempts would continue to be rejected by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) because of a lack of "hard evidence" that their illnesses were caused by exposure to radiation. Labour backbencher Siobhain McDonagh, who obtained the adjournment debate, told the Commons the husband of one of her constituents had committed suicide in 1976 "after 18 years of pain".

The government is refusing to back down over attempts to force it to compensate British nuclear test veterans. Armed forces minister Kevan Jones admitted he had sympathy for over 1,000 veterans of nuclear tests carried out in the 1950s who are seeking compensation. But he said their attempts would continue to be rejected by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) because of a lack of "hard evidence" that their illnesses were caused by exposure to radiation. Labour backbencher Siobhain McDonagh, who obtained the adjournment debate, told the Commons the husband of one of her constituents had committed suicide in 1976 "after 18 years of pain".

NUCLEAR test veterans in Derbyshire fear they could die before getting compensation after a court ruled that the Ministry of Defence could appeal against their claims. At a High Court hearing earlier this month a judge ruled that more than 1,000 servicemen, who blame their ill health on being exposed to radiation during the nuclear tests in the 1950s, could sue the MoD. But now the MoD has been given the right to appeal against that ruling and veterans in the county say they don't think they will be alive to see a pay out.

Nearly 1,000 veterans made ill after British nuclear bomb testing are going to the High Court to claim the MoD knowingly exposed them to the affects of radiation. The 970 British, New Zealand and Fijian claimants say that they have suffered illnesses - including cancers, skin defects and fertility problems - after testing in the South Pacific in the 1950s. The claimants say it has only been due to new technology that the link between the tests are their illnesses has been established They are claiming millions of pounds of compensation from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and say the Government knew it was exposing them to contamination.

Serviceman's blood showed 'hallmarks of radiation THE MINISTRY of Defence (MoD) has been accused of "a cover-up of a cock-up" in the wake of new evidence that it failed to investigate genetic damage among the veterans of Britain's nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s. Confidential correspondence from 1984 reveals that the Medical Research Council (MRC) discovered DNA defects in a test veteran that were characteristic of radiation damage. But the council was never asked to look for similar problems in other veterans. The revelation is seen as the "smoking gun" that could bring justice for the veterans, who have been campaigning for compensation for illnesses they blame on radiation for decades. They recently launched legal action against the MoD, which has promised an inquiry.

COUNCIL chiefs have attacked the Ministry of Defence for failing to let them know about a radioactive leak from a nuclear submarine in the River Tamar. Plymouth City Council, responsible for emergency planning, only heard about the incident involving HMS Trafalgar from media reports yesterday - four days after it happened. The MOD admitted it should have told the council and said it was working to make sure there was no repeat of the breakdown in communication.

A huge crane poses the biggest risk of a nuclear disaster at the Faslane naval base on the Clyde, according to newly released safety assessments by the Ministry of Defence. Plutonium from up to 48 nuclear warheads could escape and cause widespread contamination and cancers if there was an accident while a Trident submarine was being moved by the crane - known as a shiplift' - the reports say. But the MoD has been accused by experts and anti-nuclear campaigners of playing down the real dangers. The amounts and risks of the radioactivity that could be released have been underestimated, they say. The shiplift at Faslane is a unique facility with a chequered history. Set up in 1993, it uses nearly 100 winches to hoist the 16,000-tonne Vanguard-class submarines into the air for maintenance while they remain loaded with up to 48 Trident nuclear warheads. The shiplift had to be modified in 1997, and in 2003 a report by consultants suggested accident risks had been underestimated. Regarded by some as Faslane's most hazardous operation, there have been hints it may end up being replaced by the kind of dry dock used elsewhere.

A Royal Navy veteran from Dundee is suing the Ministry of Defence (MoD) over the radiation he was exposed to during atomic bomb testing. John Gilchrist, 72, was involved in two tests at the Montebello Islands off north western Australia in 1956.

Around 1000 servicemen who were involved in the nuclear testing conducted off the coast of Australia in the 1950's, have finally won their battle to be allowed to take their claim for compensation to the courts. With the help of "after the event" insurance and a "no win no fee" lawyer, they are finally on their way to receiving a payout from the MOD for the illnesses which have plagued them and their families ever since. The servicemen were involved in the testing of nuclear devices in the South Pacific in the 1950's and were expected to carry out such tasks as burying radioactive material and washing the vehicles used to transport the devices. At no time were they provided with protective clothing or told of the possible risks to their health. The eventual outcome has been cases of cancer, leukaemia in the servicemen's children, skin conditions and infertility. The men have attempted to get legal aid to take their case to court but were refused. They finally turned to lawyer Neil Sampson, a partner at Rosenblat Solicitors, who agreed to take on the case on a "no win, no fee" basis. The action is one of the largest group actions taken in the UK and has been financed by gaining After The Event (ATE) insurance from Brit Insurance. The cost is expected to be millions of pounds. It has previously been thought that ATE insurance is usually capped at £200,000, but changing markets have meant that it is possible to find this type of insurance to cover as much as £20m.

Critics round on ministry's 'scandalous' safety record after admission to nine nuclear submarine leaks in past 12 years Radioactive waste has leaked from Britain's nuclear submarines nine times in the past 12 years, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has admitted. Two of the leaks - including one at Devonport near Plymouth two months ago - had not been revealed until today. Confirmation of the leaks raises new questions about the MoD's safety record, which has been coming under increasing scrutiny since HMS Vanguard, a British submarine armed with Trident nuclear missiles, collided with a nuclear-armed French submarine, Le Triomphant, under the Atlantic in February.

NUCLEAR test veterans have won their 12-year battle for the right to sue for compensation. Around 1,000 servicemen who blame their ill health on their involvement in Britain's nuclear tests in the '50s want to sue the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Yesterday, at London's High Court, Judge Mr Justice Foskett gave the veterans the green light to proceed with the claims. The veterans, who took part in the programme on the Australia mainland, Monte-Bello islands and Christmas Island between 1952 and 1958, say new scientific evidence has shown links between exposure to ionising radiation and their conditions, which include cancer, skin defects and infertility.

There have been 14 collisions involving British nuclear submarines since 1988 and 237 fires on board the fleet of vessels, the government has revealed. February's collision between HMS Vanguard and French sub Le Triomphant was the sole recorded collision with another naval vessel, the MoD said.

"THE Ministry of Defence has put a blanket ban on turbines being built within 31 miles of a nuclear test monitoring station, The Scotsman has learned. The decision by the MoD could scupper plans for major wind farms in the Borders, as well as making it impossible for individuals to put turbines up at their homes and farms. The Eskdalemuir seismological recording station, between Moffat and Hawick in the Borders, is used to monitor underground nuclear testing across the world. "

"Ministers went to court yesterday to try to stop former British servicemen from receiving compensation for illnesses that they allege they suffered during Britain's atomic testing programme in the 1950s. In June last year the High Court ruled that 10 test cases out of more than 1,000 claims could proceed to trial. The servicemen blame their ill-health, including cancer, skin defects and fertility problems, on involvement in the nuclear tests on the Australian mainland, Monte Bello islands and Christmas Island between 1952 and 1958. Many are terminally ill and seven - including five of the test case claimants - have died since the litigation began. While acknowledging the "debt of gratitude" owed to the men, the Ministry of Defence denies negligence and fought the cases on the preliminary point that they were all launched outside the legal time limit."

"A NUCLEAR test veteran has described how he believes his battle for compensation from the Government may not be won in his lifetime. Former RAF serviceman Archie Ross, of Oak Close, Castle GresleyArchie Ross, of Oak Close, Castle Gresley, made the claim as an appeal by the Ministry of Defence, against a decision to allow compensation for more than 1,000 servicemen, continues. Mr Ross claims that exposure to radiation in 1950s nuclear tests, during his time as an RAF serviceman on Christmas Island, near Australia, has had a devastating effect on his health, his daughters and his grandson. But the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has rejected allegations of negligence and countered by saying that the claims for compensation are now out of date."

Britain deliberately misled Australia about the effects of its nuclear tests at Maralinga and poisoned hundreds of servicemen with its atomic blasts, London's High Court has heard. The claims were made on the first day of a long-awaited legal battle by more than 800 veterans who are demanding millions of dollars in compensation from Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD).

A war veteran from near Chorley is taking his case to the High Court this month after being exposed to atomic bomb tests during the 1950s. George Harrison, 73, isn't well enough to travel to London to fight his legal battle against the Ministry of Defence in person but he hopes the case - part of one of largest compensation claims against the MoD from hundreds of servicemen - will reach a positive conclusion after more than half a century.

Radioactive liquid spilled into a river during maintenance work on a nuclear submarine, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed. The Royal Navy said up to 280 litres (62 gallons) of contaminated water spilled from a ruptured hose as it was used to pump out coolant from HMS Trafalgar at the Devonport Naval Base in Plymouth. The incident happened shortly after midnight on Friday and the contaminated liquid spilled into the River Tamar. An MoD spokesman said: "During a standard operation to transfer primary coolant from HMS Trafalgar to an effluent tank on the jetty, a hose ruptured, resulting in a leak of the coolant. A maximum of 280 litres of coolant were discharged from the hose on to the submarine casing, jetty and into the river Tamar.

Defence chiefs are trying to wriggle out of paying nuclear test veterans compensation - by claiming they are now TOO OLD to remember what happened.

Concerns have been raised over the safety of people living near a Berkshire site earmarked for a new nuclear warhead facility. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) wants to modernise the Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). The Nuclear Awareness Group (NAG) said the site proposed at Burghfield was too close to the densely populated Reading area to be safe.