Our war heroes deserve better

■ WITH the rightful and solemn two-minute Remembrance Day silence for all our fallen servicemen and women in conflicts worldwide, it beggars belief our nuclear test veterans have still not been recognised for outstanding bravery and rightly rewarded with an appropriate gallantry medal (Mirror, November 11).

Equally shocking is the revelation that members of our forces were denied proper medical attention and their records hidden for decades leading to unreliable medical information.

What an appalling way to treat our heroic forces personnel who took part in nuclear tests without proper protection in the 1950s.

Neil Atherton

St Helens, Merseyside

■ These brave men were guinea pigs and should be awarded medals for their suffering. They should not have been confronted by police just for trying to lay wreaths at the MOD and Cenotaph (Mirror, Nov 9).

The country should be thankful for people like this who risked their lives in service for their country.

What is this country coming to when we can appoint charlatans and failures to the House of Lords but these brave people are denied recognition?

How many of us would fly through a nuclear cloud for our country? They should be treated with the utmost dignity.

Dave Mellor

Warrington, Cheshire

■ Well done on your campaign for our nuclear

test veterans to be recognised with a medal. The cover-up surrounding Christmas Island tests is a scandal and a stain on governments.

Many of these men and their families have lived with the consequences and suffered poor health and premature deaths.

There aren’t many of them left so the Government must give them the recognition they deserve. Craig Cooper, Wakefield

■ It’s disgusting the way our nuclear veterans have been betrayed by this and previous governments. Not only are they denied a medal to recognise their sacrifice, now, thanks to the Mirror, we learn their medical records have possibly been tampered with meaning many suffered or died prematurely when they could have been treated.

We need full transparency going forward to honour all those who served on Christmas Island in the 1950s.

Dave Briggs, Nottingham

■ This country is already a disgrace but I am not surprised that the medical records of our nuclear veterans were kept hidden.

These weren’t official secrets but embarrassing ones that Churchill and his successors didn’t want the country or the veterans’ families finding out about.

Had this information been made available, it could have helped many receive the right treatment for their conditions.

The secrecy has to stop now – publish and be damned!

Tony Howard, Salford

■ The treatment of Britain’s nuclear test veterans is a disgrace. For the Government to keep their records secret for 70 years is a cynical and disgusting act, and one of betrayal to avoid paying out compensation and deliver long overdue justice as other nations have done.

Phil Brand, South London

■ One of my close friend’s father was present at these nuclear tests and he wasn’t proud of being there. Afterwards, he became an active member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and had a small plane he used to tow a CND black flag behind. He led a full life and died at 86 in 2014. Brave men. Guy Middlewood, York