![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/nuke-heroes-may-not-all-get-their-medal-for-remembrance-sunday/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1_Defence-minster-Andrew-Murrison.png&description=Delays have hit the production of the nuclear test medal, with the first ones produced only two weeks ago. Now ministers have admitted not all of the 1,700 who have applied may get them in time Nuclear test veterans have been told they might not all receive their medal in time for Remembrance Sunday. It follows an admission last week that the government may have left it too late to ask the King to hold a ceremony honouring the survivors of Britain's Cold War radiation experiments. The veterans have campaigned for more than five years for the gong, and 1,731 of them have applied for it since it was announced by Rishi Sunak last November. Another 937 families have applied on behalf of a deceased veteran, but production has been hit by delays. Applications were not opened until five months after the announcement, and the design was not signed off until July. The Mirror reported it was due to a "bitter turf war" between Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, with sources saying the MoD had "pulled the handbrake". Mercer visited the medal factory at the end of August to see the first medal produced, but now it seems likely that not enough will be minted in time for all those who have applied to get theirs before this year's Remembrance commemorations. In the House of Commons today, junior defence minister Andrew Murrison did not deny the process had been hit by delays. He said: "The government is doing everything possible to ensure as many nuclear test veterans as possible receive their medal in time for Remembrance Sunday, and I appreciate the importance of that." He added that "a presentation event to award the first medals is actively being considered by the Office of Veterans Affairs". Alan Owen, who founded campaign group LABRATS after his entire family suffered ill health related to the nuclear tests, said: "They've all but admitted they left it too late. We have pressed them for almost a year and there is no excuse. The King was crowned){kind=link}
Delays have hit the production of the nuclear test medal, with the first ones produced only two weeks ago. Now ministers have admitted not all of the 1,700 who have applied may get them in time
Nuclear test veterans have been told they might not all receive their medal in time for Remembrance Sunday.
It follows an admission last week that the government may have left it too late to ask the King to hold a ceremony honouring the survivors of Britain’s Cold War radiation experiments.
The veterans have campaigned for more than five years for the gong, and 1,731 of them have applied for it since it was announced by Rishi Sunak last November. Another 937 families have applied on behalf of a deceased veteran, but production has been hit by delays.
Applications were not opened until five months after the announcement, and the design was not signed off until July. The Mirror reported it was due to a “bitter turf war” between Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, with sources saying the MoD had “pulled the handbrake”.