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A serviceman killed by a chemical weapons
experiment suffered a "terrible and agonising" death, says a friend who
underwent the same test.
Ronald Maddison died minutes after being exposed to
the nerve gas sarin at the Government's Porton Down germ warfare lab.
Last week the High Court ordered a new inquest into
Ronald's death after quashing the original verdict of misadventure.
For years, ex-servicemen have demanded a new probe
into the tests that killed the 20-year-old leading aircraftsman, from
Consett, County Durham.
He was one of an estimated 20,000 military
personnel thought to have been exposed to potentially lethal chemicals
at Porton Down during the 1950s and 60s.
Now Ken Earl, who was another of the human guinea
pigs, has revealed details of Ronald's horrific death and blasted the
"cover-up" surrounding it.
Ken, now an actor, says the men were duped into
volunteering . . . thinking they were testing a vaccine for the common
cold.
He said: "Poor Ronald died a terrible and agonising
death.
"He was foaming at the mouth and having fits, and
his family have never had an apology.
"They had to bury him in a sealed coffin and his
father, John, had to sign the Official Secrets Act and couldn't even
tell Ronald's mother what had happened to him."
Ken, 69, who later had parts in TV hits like
Minder, Z Cars and The Avengers, had his test two days before Ronald.
Aged just 19, he was exposed to 200 milligrams of
deadly sarin.
The former RAF man, from Kent, said: "We were taken
into a sealed chamber at Porton Down wearing gas masks and full combat
gear.
"They told us to roll up our sleeves, and
scientists dropped liquid on to two pieces of cloth on our exposed arms.
"We sat there for about half an hour in
respirators, playing noughts and crosses with each other.
"After we came out I was sweating profusely.
"I now know that is a classic early sign of sarin
poisoning."
Ken thinks he survived the test because of his
bigger build, although he says that he did start to develop back trouble
and nerve problems in his 30s.
But two days later it was Ronald's turn.
Ken said: "They gave him the same dosage as me, but
within 25 minutes he said he felt queer and then he suddenly slumped
forward on to the table. He was taken from the chamber and as he was
being walked across the compound he collapsed.
"They tried to give him the antidote, but he was
too far gone and was turning blue."
Ronald was given the dosage at 10.17am.
And he was dead by 11am, after attempts to revive
him failed.
Ken added: "This has been a cover-up. Ronald came
forward for his country and they killed him."
"We are fighting for a public inquiry and for all
those other people who have died as a result of these experiments and
the families they left behind."
V phil.doherty@ncjmedia.co.uk |