Two Salford MPs have called for the recognition of veterans on the 70th anniversary of Operation Hurricane.
Rebecca Long-Bailey, MP for Salford and Eccles, and Barbara Keeley, MP for Eccles South and Worsley, have both taken to Twitter to express their dismay at the lack of acknowledgment.
The anniversary, dubbed the ‘plutonium jubilee’, recognises the date the United Kingdom dropped their first nuclear bomb, and honours soldiers who took part in the experiment, which resulted in health issues such as infertility.
1/ Today is the 70th anniversary @trussliz wants to forget, the #PlutoniumJubilee of Britain’s first atomic bomb test. Britain is the only nation who have not properly recognised their nuclear test veterans, and time is running out. pic.twitter.com/btpxytyGTQ
— Rebecca Long-Bailey (@RLong_Bailey) October 3, 2022
Prime Minister Liz Truss was expected to commemorate the victims of the cold war experiments with medals but she instead attended a Tory party conference.
This sparked anger from Keeley on Twitter.
Today is the 70th anniversary #PlutoniumJubilee of Britain’s first atomic bomb test
@TrussLiz promised to support nuclear test veterans but since she became PM she has gone silent on this issue
https://t.co/RNK8Pum90E— Barbara Keeley 💙 😷🇺🇦 (@KeeleyMP) October 3, 2022
There has also been an outpouring of anger after only £450,000 worth of funds were made available without the knowledge of the veterans.
Long-Bailey also tweeted: “Britain is the only nation who have not properly recognised their nuclear test veterans, and time is running out.
“Earlier this year, both Opposition Leader Keir Starmer and then Prime Minister Boris Johnson had meetings with veterans and descendants. This was unprecedented, the first time a British PM had met with these veterans.
For more information on the fight for recognition, look here
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