Hundreds of veterans of British nuclear tests in the Pacific in the 1950s have lost the latest round of their fight for government compensation.
The claimants, who comprise of former service personnel from Britain, New Zealand and Fiji, say they were exposed to radioactive fallout and that exposure caused illnesses or disabilities.
By a margin of four to three, judges on the panel of Britain's Supreme Court rejected the veterans' case and ruled the claimants did not have the right to sue the British defence ministry for compensation.
Our correspondent in London, Ben Lowings, says despite the latest setback, the veterans aren't giving up.
"What they're relying on now is this idea of lead cases. The Supreme Court justices threw out nine of the ten so-called lead cases, grouping these veterans situations into cases. So, one of them is left, so the lawyers are now saying we can group some of the cases into this last remaining one, which the court didn't effectively reject."
Ben Lowings says the veterans say they just want the chance to state their case in court.
