Human Experimentation - MR185

Health Protection Agency did not have the information requested.

Dear Health Protection Agency,

A question was raised in the House of Commons requesting the numbers of personnel who have had their medical records flagged for the 'Human Experimentation programme MR185'. The answer given quoted: 21,359 Nuclear Veterans were participants and a further 22,333 controls (non participants) were flagged.

1. Of the 21,359 participants in this programme, how many were made aware of the purpose of this covert medical experimentation programme when they were placed on it?

2. Of the 21,359 participants how many signed to say they were willing to take part in this covert medical experimentation programme?

3. Are records kept for each individual showing the tasks and tests they were involved in?

4. Of the 21,359 participants are they divided into separate groups?

5. If so: How many different groups are there and what is the purpose of each group?

6. Why was information on this 'Human Experiment' not released to the General Public?

Yours faithfully,

David Whyte

Dear Health Protection Agency,

By law a reply should have been provided by the 22 February 2010 or a reason given for the delay.

Could you please reply in order to conform to the law of the land.

Yours faithfully,

Dave Whyte

Freedom Of Information, Health Protection Agency

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Whyte,

Please find response to your request attached.

We apologise for the delay in providing a substantive response.

Please contact us again if you require any clarification

Regards,
HPA FOI Officer

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Dear Freedom Of Information,

The answers given, bear no resemblance to the questions asked. Therefore, I request an internal review.

I agree, a large list of publications were sent to me. If, as implied, the answers are in one of these publication could you please provide me with the name of the publication and the chapter where it can be found.

Some of the information requested may be covered by the 'Data Protection Act'and should not be included in any of your publications and would need to be sent separately.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Whyte

Freedom Of Information, Health Protection Agency

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Whyte,

Please find response to your request attached.

Please contact us again if you require any clarification

Regards,
HPA FOI Officer

show quoted sections

Dear Freedom Of Information,
Thank you for your reply. This explains fully the reason why I am still waiting on answers to some of my questions.

In my request I wrote 'I agree, a large list of publications were sent to me. If, as implied, the answers are in one of these publications could you please provide me with the name of the publication and the chapter where it can be found.'

There was over a full page of (A4) of publications but no information has been offered in what publication I can discover the facts required.

I then went on to explain that if my personal details were in any of these publications then there was a breach of the Data Protection Act.

When a major covert medical research programme such as this is being conducted, it stands to reason that documentation is made out for each individual. Every person had their own tasks to perform under different circumstances and it would be a pointless exercise to lump them all together under one category.

It was the information held regarding my activities during the Nuclear Tests that I have requested, but are not forthcoming.

If a research programme was being run for smokers, they would, logically, be grouped as per the number of cigarettes a day they smoked and a report kept on each individual! I believe the Nuclear Veterans also had individual reports but no one is prepared to admit to the concealment of this information

I sent the Freedom of Information to the HPA as they state they hold the 'Data Base' regarding Nuclear veterans.

Perhaps this is yet a further means of deception which I discovered at another Government Department. I asked a specific question and was told they did not hold this information. I then discovered another Department held the information for them but they refused to allow it to be released. They quite rightly stated they did not hold the information but deliberately neglected to tell me who held it for them and refused to authorise its release.

I must rank this FOI as 'UNSUCCESSFUL'

Yours sincerely,

Dave Whyte