In office, Boris Johnson was told of allegations about crimes by the British state in withholding information about blood testing of nuclear troops. Now he has been identified as a potential witness in a criminal investigation
Boris Johnson has been named as a potential witness to a criminal cover-up at the heart of the British state.
The former PM’s name appears, alongside others, in evidence handed to Thames Valley Police, which is considering whether to launch a full investigation. Detectives have been urged to question him about a secret programme of human radiation experiments on servicemen, the results of which have been withheld from their personnel files.
The Nuked Blood Scandal – involving blood tests taken from troops before, during and after service at Cold War nuclear weapons trials – has led to a formal allegation of misconduct in public office centred on the Ministry of Defence.
If convicted, such a charge is likely to lead to a sentence of 3 or 4 years’ in jail for any public official who has acted unlawfully in post, with harm caused to others as a result. The maximum sentence is life imprisonment.
Alan Owen of campaign group LABRATS said: “Veterans and their families have been serving a life sentence of their own. Chronic illness, cancers, birth defects, bereavement, miscarriage, trauma, suicide – much of it avoidable, and all of it more treatable, had they been told what really happened.
“Instead they had decades of denial from successive governments. Boris was the first PM to sit down and look us in the eye, and now we ask him to do the right thing once again. and help the veterans get the justice they have for so long been denied.”
Mr Johnson was first informed of the scandal by the Mirror during a showdown in his Parliamentary office in June 2022, when he was asked to authorise a nuclear test medal. We showed him a 1958 memo between atomic scientists discussing the “gross irregularity” in the blood tests of a squadron leader who had been ordered to fly through mushroom clouds.
We told the PM – in front of witnesses who included ministers, Downing Street officials, and backbench MPs – that the officer’s medical records were being unlawfully withheld, and that was potentially a criminal offence.
“Yes it is,” he agreed, before studying the memo and asking the Mirror where the records had been hidden. It is not known what action he took as a result of the information he had been given. His representatives have been asked for comment.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, who is also named as a potential witness, confirmed he would speak to the police if asked. He said: “Just as with infected blood, I believe senior politicians have been witnesses to a live and ongoing cover-up affecting our nuclear test veterans. If the police decide to investigate, it is incumbent upon all of us to co-operate fully and tell officers what we know. Politicians must have the courage to step forward and end Whitehall’s culture of cover-up.”
READ MORE: Victims Commissioner demands police investigate allegations of Nuked Blood cover-up
Other names on the list of potential witnesses include lawyers who provided sworn testimony, submissions to judges and written evidence handed in to court, stating that blood testing of troops did not take place, no documentation about it existed, and all relevant records had been disclosed. Thousands of pages of orders, discussion and results have since been uncovered, and a huge database is due to be declassified.
Keir Starmer, who was first informed of missing medical records while Leader of the Opposition, is also on the list, along with Defence Secretary John Healey and Veterans Minister Al Carns. Downing Street, the MoD, and Government Legal Department all declined to answer the question of whether they would co-operate with any investigation.
A government spokesman said: “These claims are false and there is no evidence to back this up. The Minister for Veterans and People has commissioned officials to look seriously into unresolved questions regarding medical records as a priority. This comprehensive work is underway and will enable us to better understand what information the department holds in relation to the medical testing of service personnel who took part in the UK nuclear weapons tests.”
Former Conservative ministers, and staff at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, have also been identified to police as people who may be able to shed light on who knew about the blood testing, and what was done about it in government.
Campaigners say all the people they have named were told, or should have known, there was evidence of criminal behaviour within the MoD, and taken steps to report it to police.
A ministerial review of the records has so far checked more than a million pages of documents, including orders for blood testing, but the government has refused to tell Parliament what has been found.