In 1981, the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment compiled a file titled: “Estimated consequences of the worst credible accident involving unit load containers filled with 120mm depleted uranium (DU) ammunition.”

It was declassified in 2015 and accessible to the public for the next three years at the National Archives in Kew, London. It is unclear who, if anyone, read it during that period.

The file was then reclassified in 2018 as part of a review of 100,000 files on radioactive material by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Around 67,000 of those files were returned to the public by 2021.

But the dossier on depleted uranium dangers is either still under review or has been selected for permanent censorship.

declassifieduk Exclusive: Depleted uranium accident file censored