Newsbot Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Former Manx servicemen who took part in British nuclear weapons tests 50 years ago move closer to compensation. Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/...man/7496328.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladys Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I am certainly not against compensating anyone in the military for any harm, disability or disadvantage that they have suffered as a result of their service, but why is the IOM government paying 'compensation'? The compensation should be coming from the quarter that put these people at risk in the first place. Has the IOM being undertaking nuclear weapon testing unbeknownst to us all? Second point is: have these ex-servicemen identified actually suffered any harm or are they eligible just because they were there? Just strikes me as a little strange that our government would want to compensate people for something that it had no hand in. It seems to be accepting liability for something that we already pay someone else to do. I don't begrudge the payments at all, I just wonder why we feel we should and what benefit, other than the £8,000, it actually brings. It would have more resonance if it was more a case of 'We pay the UK government X per annum for our defence. In addition, the Isle of Man provides numerous individuals to the UK armed forces, but we pick up the long term tab if any are injured or disabled in the course of their service. So we look to the UK government to compensate these people properly and adequately, and the IOM people for the longer term care that may be needed, but recognising that that is a long process, we will provide an interim welfare payment in anticipation of you meeting your obligations.' I don't suppose the IOM gets any kind of contribution to the longer term care of servicemen, just as the servicemen themselves get very little. The recent example of the disgraceful treatment of Gurkhas and their widows, just underlines that we, in common with may other former empire states, really are just a supply line to the GB military. If we, and others, stood a little firmer then perhaps they wouldn't have had the man power to embark on the recent questionnable campaigns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemonday Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Agreed with all above - additional question being is 8K an attempt to define/set a comp payout level for the 700 cases against the UK? Will any Manx payment be looked at as a benchmark/defining payment elsewhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Just strikes me as a little strange that our government would want to compensate people for something that it had no hand in. It seems to be accepting liability for something that we already pay someone else to do. The island is the first 'official body' to recognise a problem and make payments, setting a precedent even, whilst in the meantime people are still in the process of suing the UK for compensation. I would expect this to drag out in the UK courts for a lot longer - probably after many of these servicemen die off over time. I imagine that once the court case is settled, and if the UK government agree a payout, these current payments would be taken into account somehow and the manx taxpayer compensated. On the other hand, if the case were to be lost, then it is down to your personal opinion as to whether these payments should be being made by the manx gov. Personally on this matter I think it is the right decision, and I would hope many others would feel the same, because I know a couple of servicemen involved what they did at that time, and they are getting on so may not even see compensation if it is granted. But I would have to make the point that I wouldn't agree to general payments over every issue that gets pursued through the courts - until all the evidence had been heard and judged. Even politicians have to act within the law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemonday Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 I would expect this to drag out in the UK courts for a lot longer - probably after many of these servicemen die off over time. Yes that stikes me as the strategy - play the long waiting game. Echoes of 'Tommy' By Rudyard Kipling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triskelion Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Surely the superpowers they developed are compensation enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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