Veterans reacted with anger tonight
after the Ministry of Defence announced it will challenge the unlawful killing
inquest verdict on the death of an RAF serviceman who underwent lethal nerve
gas tests.
Defence minister Ivor Caplin apologised to the family of Leading Aircraftsman
Ronald Maddison but said his department would be seeking a judicial review
on the verdict reached last month.
Mr Maddison, from Consett, County Durham, died aged 20 after having droplets
of sarin dabbed on to his arm at Porton Down chemical warfare testing facility
on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, in 1953.
Winston Churchill’s government ordered the initial inquest, which reached
a verdict of misadventure, to be held in secret.
But after years of campaigning, an inquiry was launched by Wiltshire Police
in 1999 and in 2002 Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf granted permission for
a second inquest, which began in May this year.
The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing on November 15.
Despite announcing that a judicial review was being sought, Mr Caplin said
claims for compensation would be looked on “favourably”. But news of the
MoD’s intention to appeal was greeted with a barrage of criticism from veterans.
Former RAF serviceman Ken Earl, 71, of Maidstone, Kent, who underwent the
same sarin test as Mr Maddison, said he was “horrified” at the MoD’s challenge.
“I’m flabbergasted that they could even think about it – it’s unbelievable,”
he said.
“The inquest sat for six months, 64 days in court, over 4,000 documents,
more than 100 witnesses. The jury came back with a unanimous verdict after
just five hours but the MoD cannot accept it.
“I’m horrified they could even consider this.“
Mr Earl said he sat in the same chair inside a gas chamber that Mr Maddison
occupied two days later.
Former Royal Navy serviceman Eric Gow, 69, from Merseyside, who underwent
tests at the base in January 1954 and now runs the Porton Down Veterans Support
Group, said: “After the verdict was recorded, the Maddison family would have
expected not to have to continue fighting.
“It’s such a shame that they have to. In fact the shame lies with the Government.“
He added: “It’s an absolute waste of taxpayers’ money. It just does not
appear to be in the MoD’s vocabulary to say sorry.”
Mr Caplin said in a written statement: “I wrote yesterday to solicitors acting
for the Maddison family apologising for the fact the Ministry of Supply employees
at the Chemical Defence Experimental Establishment at Porton Down, Wiltshire,
proceeded with a test involving Ronald George Maddison on May 6, 1953, which
led to his death.
“This was undertaken notwithstanding the fact that an identical test on
May 4, 1953 resulted in an adverse blood test reaction in one serviceman.
“The MoD has not received a formal claim for compensation from the next of
kin of Mr Maddison. However, any claim for compensation from his family would
be considered favourably on the basis of the negligence referred to above.
“The MoD intends to challenge by way of judicial review the inquest verdict
of unlawful killing.”
Alan Care, the lawyer who represented the Maddison family at the inquest,
was unavailable for comment.
