Andy Burnham backs public inquiry into Christmas Island nuclear tests

Greater Manchester Mayor and former Leigh MP Burnham said: ‘We are still not at the point where the full truth has been told.”

This came as he presented a Nuclear Test Veterans’ Medal to Martin Blackburn on behalf of his father Norman, who died of stomach cancer in 1985 at the age of 55.

As an RAF driver, Norman was sent to Christmas Island in 1957 and watched six nuclear explosions.

Martin, 52, was subsequently born with a cataract in his left eye from which he has had only partial sight all his life. His father was convinced this condition and his own cancer was caused by the Christmas Island explosions.

The medal was presented by Mr Burnham the local library in Martin’s home town of Golborne in Wigan alongside Leigh MP Jo Platt and councillors Susan Gambles, Yvonne Klieve and Gena Merrett.

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Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham presents the Nuclear Test Veterans Medal to Martin Blackburn on behalf of Martin's dad Norman at Golborne Library (Image: LDRS)
Martin told the gathering: “My dad was sent to an unknown island, along with quite a few hundred other men. They thought they were going to a great adventure.

“No-one told them where they were going or what they would be doing there, or what they would be involved in.”

He said they were given orders on a particular day to muster on the beach in rows to sit on the beach and look out to sea, but when they saw the white flash, they had to turn their backs.

“And that’s what they did,” he continued. “And then they were ordered again to turn around and look at the mushroom cloud that had formed. Every veteran that you talk to – dad was not the only one – said that when that bomb was dropped and there was a bright flash and they could see their bones through their hands, just like x-rays.

“Some men even reported how the young guys – some were only 17 or 18 years old – that were sent there on National Service, were so scared that they were literally crying for their parents. It was a scary thing.

“But my dad watched six of those tests. Some didn’t go to plan. Each one was different. They gathered samples and materials and they were sent back to the UK for testing and analysis.”

Martin said his dad never thought about the after-effects much until he was born in 1972.

“My mum noticed that something wasn’t quite right with my eyes,” he said. It turned out he had had a cataract in his left eye that he had since birth.

“I remember my dad always saying ‘this was Christmas Island’. My dad fought hard to get me the right treatment. But I’ve only got very limited sight in my left yet.”

Martin told how his dad died at 55-years-old. But before that he had answered a newspaper advert asking if anyone had been to Christmas Island.

“It led to the campaign where there were 2,000 members, but many have since passed away.”

Norman Blackburn (Image: Martin Blackburn)
Mr Burnham told Martin how the campaign has been focused on ‘doing right’ by people like his dad.

Burnham said: “Until recently, there wasn;t even a medal,It wasn’t recognised. “In the end, it took a lot of work by a lot of people in parliament to get to this point.

“But we are still not at the point where the full truth has been told about what happened.”

Asked whether he was calling for a public inquiry, he added: “Yes, I am. I’ve worked with a number of justice campaigns, most recently infected blood (HIV), which is similar in some ways in that there’s lots of people all over the country affected.

“Now we’ve got the truth for the infected blood community, I think there are a lot of people who feel that the nuclear test veterans campaign is the single biggest, gravest, but still unresolved injustice that we’ve got. Bear in mind, these people were serving their country.

Ms Platt said of Martin: “It’s only right for him to tell his and his father’s story, but it’s up to us to carry it and that’s what my job will be for him.”