Public Office (Accountability) Bill — Written evidence submitted by Steve Purse (POAB17)

Public Office (Accountability) Bill (2nd December 2025)

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Session 2024-25

Public Office (Accountability) Bill

Written evidence submitted by Steve Purse for the Public Office (Accountability) Bill Committee (POAB17)

My name is Steve Purse

, I am the son of the late David Purse who was a British Nuclear Test Veteran. He served at the British Nuclear Weapons tests with the RAF in Maralinga, South Australia from 1962-1963. By this time the land he lived and worked on had been subject to the radioactive fallout from 7 Nuclear bomb detonations and almost 600 highly toxic and polluting radiation experiments. I was born with severe genetic disabilities, one of which is unknown to medical science. My life is severely affected by these disabilities. My 4-year-old son has a genetic condition, and I am living in fear for his future health and the health of my unborn second son due in March 2026. I believe the genetic conditions that my son and I have are a direct result of my father’s exposure to radiation during the Nuclear Weapons tests.

I have been campaigning with LABRATS International for justice and accountability for the British Nuclear Test Veterans and their families for several years. It is this experience of campaigning that leads me to submitting this evidence.

This bill could prevent future campaign groups having to endure the lies, roadblocks and delays that we have been subjected to. What has happened to our Nuclear Test Veterans and their families has been nothing short of a monumental cover-up, which is a national shame.

These are just a few of the issues we have faced:

·

The state claims that veterans’ medical records are not being withheld, they just need to be applied for. This is a lie. I have documentary evidence from the MoD stating that they have my father’s medical record but ‘this record is being withheld’. Veterans and late veterans’ families are routinely refused access to medical records and those that do get them report incorrect records, altered records, redacted records and records with large sections missing. The affected time periods are those when they served on the Nuclear Tests. I have been fighting to get my father’s medical records for 4 years now and I am still no closer to getting them despite providing every document they ask for and jumping through every hoop they say. I am gaslit and ignored and am forced to get ministerial intervention while the official line is that this process is simple.

·

The state claimed for years that no blood or urine tests were taken from the service personnel during or after the nuclear tests. This was a lie; we have uncovered the MoD’s own documents stating the orders to perform these tests and many examples of the results of these tests. Veterans remember the blood and urine tests. Their blood and urine test results are locked away in classified databases.

·

The state claims no one was exposed to radiation and that they wore radiation badges to show the levels of exposure. This was a lie, very few had these badges. Those that did were often damaged and disposed of. They were unfit for purpose. We have evidence of this.

·

The state claims that no men were put in harms way. This is a lie, we have documents stating they wished to see the effect of nuclear bombs on equipment, stores and personnel, both protected and unprotected. Men were ordered to crawl through ground zero shortly after a detonation to see how much fallout stuck to their uniforms. The MoD’s own documents acknowledge men’s health would be affected and this was ‘unfortunate but necessary’. They callously state that there would be genetic damage to their offspring, but the number of men damaged was small enough not to pose a risk to the future of humanity.

·

War pensions have been denied, and most court cases have been lost as the MoD spent millions of taxpayers’ money fighting veterans who were forced to give up due to lack of resources.

·

MoD information has been classified under false pretenses to hide and justify withholding medical records. It has taken years to overturn this, and we are still not sure we are being given the truth and not told why it was classified in the first instance.

This bill could have helped our campaign. Parity of arms for war pension tribunals would have helped obtain the truth and potentially helped fund the cases. The duty of candour would have stopped the policy of lying to protect the reputation of the MoD. Command responsibility would see someone held accountable, even if it is just to issue an apology. Many veterans long for that simplest of actions, an apology.

Information has not been shared; roadblocks and delays have been common practice for the MoD. Lying seems to be an official policy if it protects the MoD. The trauma and aguish these inflict on our community is immense. We lose veterans on a weekly basis, and this too seems to be a policy the MoD use, delay, deny until they die. I have had counseling to help me cope with trauma I suffer worrying about the health concerns I have for my son. This could have been alleviated so easily by a policy of openness and honesty. The duty of candour would get me the answers I need to help prepare for any potential health issues my son may face. I have had to get my son’s and my own DNA genome analysed in the US as I do not trust any UK based service to be beyond the reach of the MoD’s interference. This cost me a lot of money but revealed shocking results about the damage to mine and my son’s DNA. For example, we are both at very high risk of breast cancer due to radiation exposure. I have had only had x-rays and my son has never been exposed to radiation. Yet the official line is that no one was exposed and there are no negative health effects of the British Nuclear Weapons tests.

I urge the government to pass this bill, and I recommend the following:

·

A duty of candour with real and substantial consequences.

·

Command responsibility so that senior executives are personally held accountable.

·

Parity of legal funding for families in all legal settings.

·

The bill must apply to all public authorities including the military, MoD and intelligence services. Including all officers to be subject to the duty of candour and the duty to assist, including compliance notices with appropriate national security safeguards.

·

Add ‘intelligence services’ explicitly to the definition of public authorities in Schedule 2 to ensure consistent and transparent application.

·

The requirement to prove ‘harm’ must be removed for misleading the public.

·

Bring the Act into force on Royal Assent to avoid delays.

I hope the committee will take this opportunity to change the culture of cover-ups and create a strong law that protects the public and is a fitting tribute to the memory of the 97 unlawfully killed at Hillsborough. No families in the future should endure the trauma and pain that we have experienced at the hands of the state. Only then can it be called The Hillsborough Law.

November 2025

Prepared 2nd December 2025

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