About Project Merlin: Unlocking Britain’s Nuclear Secrets
Academic Dr Jon Hogg, investigative reporter Susie Boniface and special guests explore the biggest declassification of nuclear secrets in British history. Each week they examine one of 28,000 newly released files, made public after decades of campaigning by atomic veterans seeking recognition. Through expert analysis and first-hand testimony, they reveal the human cost of Britain's Cold War nuclear programme and its lasting impact on people, politics and society. All Historic documents are Crown copyright, openly licensed and names have been redacted.
Publisher
The University of Liverpool and Research England Policy Fund
When a medal was finally announced for nuclear test veterans there were some who were inexplicably left out - the crews who flew through the mushroom clouds of foreign powers on secret intelligence gathering operations. Even when it was extended, the men of 543 and 27 Squadrons were still only partially recognised. Now Merlin is throwing up more evidence of how even the crews who stayed behind in the UK could have been exposed to radiation. Susie and Jon are joined by ex-543 men Colin Duncan and Barry Fagg to discuss the evidence.
2 Sept 2026
Ep 11. The Politics of Injustice
Politicians get a bad rap but today Susie and Jon are joined by two backbenchers who have been instrumental in securing justice for the nuclear veterans. Rebecca Long-Bailey and Emma Lewell have grilled ministers, arranged debates, and got under the bonnet of government to force Whitehall to address the evidence being discovered by campaigners.
All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.
19 Aug 2026
Ep 9. Full Disclosure
The British government always said it would compensate nuclear veterans, if they could provide evidence they were harmed. Neil Sampson was the lead solicitor who battled to do just that in 2007, in a legal process that stymied and blocked his best efforts but led to the creation of the newly-opened Merlin database. Together with lawyer Oli Troen, who is helping veterans with a fresh legal fight over the cover-up of human experiments, Neil joins Susie to unpick all the twists and turns of the MoD's legal strategies to deny truth and justice to its veterans.
All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.
12 Aug 2026
Ep 8. The Butterfield Papers
Radiation was weaponised because nuclear bombs could contaminate people and landscapes for decades. Yet the British government has always denied there was a genetic hazard to taking part in its Cold War bomb tests. Papers uncovered by investigative journalist Susie Boniface, and now found on the Merlin database behind national security, show that chief biologist John Butterfield knew there were genetic risks to servicemen - but decided it was worth it. Susie and Dr Jon Hogg are joined by nuclear descendants Alan Owen and Steve Purse to discuss what has been found in Butterfield's personal papers.
All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.
5 Aug 2026
Ep 7. A Very British Cover-Up
James Hennessey died in a crush at Hillsborough football stadium in 1989, and daughter Charlotte, then just 6, has spent years fighting for the truth. On the way, she and 96 other families became victims of a state cover-up that wasn't overturned for decades. Together with Lydia Hayes of the Centre for People's Justice, Charlotte tells how the fight for truth and justice led to the creation of the Hillsborough Law to stop future scandals, and the connections to Britain's nuclear testing veterans.
All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.
29 Jul 2026
Ep 10. Fallout
For decades the UK government said there was no fallout at Christmas Island after its nuclear weapons tests. Then a whistleblower came forward, spurred on by Project Merlin, to reveal they had the evidence all along, and had covered it up. First reported by Susie, she and Jon discuss the ramifications of the whistleblower's secret report with veteran John Morris and Professor Kevin Ruane of Canterbury Christchurch University.
All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.
29 Jul 2026
Ep 6. The Black Mist of Operation Totem
In 1953, Britain detonated two atomic weapons in the Outback of South Australia. The purpose was to test how much plutonium was too much for the bomb to work properly. But after one blast an oily black mist was seen rolling across the landscape, covering Aboriginal camps with greasy ash, poisoning waterholes, and killing the wildlife. In the wake of it, Yami Lester went blind. Decades later he heard a scientist insist reports of a "black mist" were a myth, and Yami's testimony blew open the nuclear testing scandal. His daughter Karina joins Prof Liz Tynan to unpick newly-declassified documents that prove Totem was more toxic than Hiroshima.
All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.
22 Jul 2026
Ep 5. The Cincinnati Experiments
William Russia was a family man raising his grandchildren in the projects of Cincinnati when he contracted lung cancer, and unwittingly became one of the last subjects in a horrifying human radiation experiment conducted by US doctors, and believed to have been settled in the 1990s. Now research in the top secret Merlin database has found a link to the British military which was sharing information about the gruesome testing with allies, and requesting more. Susie and Jon discuss their findings with William’s granddaughter Toilynn O’Neal, and what it may mean for UK veterans fighting the government to access their own medical records with solicitor Oli Troen.
All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.
15 Jul 2026
Ep 4. Operation Hurricane
Once upon a time, it was necessary to have a weapon that could unleash hell. After American atomic scientists won the arms race, Britain was frozen out and decided to make one of her own. A project run on a shoestring in total secrecy led to a massive naval flotilla travelling to the Monte Bello Islands off the north west coast of Australia. Eric Waterfield was one of the Royal Engineers among them, and recalls his experience of the mission codenamed Operation Hurricane. Author and journalist Paul Grace shares his own discoveries about the project from Australian archives, and what he found on a recent trip to the bomb site which is now a wildlife haven where humans are warned not to stay too long. Jon and Susie share a document from the Merlin archives with never-before-seen images and biological experiments on plants, animals - and humans.
All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.
8 Jul 2026
Ep 3. The World’s Biggest Bomb
When the Soviet Union detonated the 50-megaton Tsar Bomba weapon in 1962, the world was horrified at its immense size and power - but relieved when it seemed that there was limited radioactive fallout. Now research in the Merlin database has found that a secret Whitehall committee knew toxic dust was blowing across the British Isles, and decided not to tell anyone. Special guests Alice Shadbolt and Dr Chris Hill from the University of South Wales discuss the discovery of the new document, and what it means for our understanding of the events around the decision to explode the world’s biggest bomb.
Historian Dr Jon Hogg and investigative reporter Susie Boniface introduce their ground-breaking research project at the Centre for People’s Justice at the University of Liverpool. After 70 years of fighting for the truth about their exposure to radiation at Britain’s nuclear weapons tests, veterans and families were resigned to injustice. After Susie uncovered a secret blood testing programme, hidden being national security at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, she was able to force the declassification of 28,000 top secret records. But getting to the bottom of the Nuked Blood Scandal was an impossible task, which is where the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the university, stepped in. With funding and a team of volunteer students they are now starting to uncover the truth. Susie recalls the moment when the scandal unfolded, and they discuss how the project works with students Elliot Stephenson and Sarah-Jayne Stroud.
All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.
1 Jul 2026
Ep 2. Lab Rats
Campaigners and nuclear descendants Steve Purse and Alan Owen join Jon and Susie to discuss the 70-year fight for the truth about what happened to their dads at the UK’s nuclear weapons tests. David Purse and James Owen served at the same time, but 4,000 miles apart - one at Christmas Island in the Pacific where he witnessed 24 hydrogen bombs in 78 days, and another in the Australian Outback at Maralinga, where scientists were testing what would happen if weapons were involved in an accident. Both share stories about family illness, bereavement and birth defects which they fear are connected to nuclear radiation, and the struggles they’ve had accessing their fathers’ medical records. Susie and Jon reveal a shocking document from the Merlin database which links their fathers’ experiences together for the first time.
All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.
24 Jun 2026
Ep 1 - The Merlin Project
Historian Dr Jon Hogg and investigative reporter Susie Boniface introduce their ground-breaking research project at the Centre for People’s Justice at the University of Liverpool. After 70 years of fighting for the truth about their exposure to radiation at Britain’s nuclear weapons tests, veterans and families were resigned to injustice. After Susie uncovered a secret blood testing programme, hidden being national security at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, she was able to force the declassification of 28,000 top secret records. But getting to the bottom of the Nuked Blood Scandal was an impossible task, which is where the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the university, stepped in. With funding and a team of volunteer students they are now starting to uncover the truth. Susie recalls the moment when the scandal unfolded, and they discuss how the project works with students Elliot Stephenson and Sarah-Jayne Stroud.
All the historic documents shown onscreen or in credits are Crown copyright and likewise usable under open licence, with personal data redacted.
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