BRITISH ex-servicemen have reacted angrily to news that ministers paid out £20 million to Australia to settle compensation claims arising from UK nuclear bomb tests – while continuing to deny them payouts for illnesses they say were caused by the same blasts.

Documents obtained by the Derby Telegraph show that, in 1993, the Foreign Office agreed to hand over £20 million "in full and final settlement" of all claims which "any person" might have due to the actions of the UK in relation to the 1950s' tests in Australia.

But while ministers funded the Australian settlement, they have steadfastly refused to pay their own ex-servicemen a single penny.

Derbyshire veteran Harry Melia, 72, suffered prostate and stomach cancer, which he believes were caused by the tests. He said: "It feels like a betrayal."

Last night, the Ministry of Defence accepted that the payment made by the British Government could have been used to pay off Australian servicemen but argued that Australian ministers had used it to decontaminate test sites.

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