A HUMAN guinea pig forced to breathe in nerve gas at the Porton Down military research centre has said he has been kept in the dark about the reported compensation settlement to veterans of the trials.

The BBC has told how 360 veterans have taken a class action against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and around 90 per cent of them have now agreed to compensation of £8,300 each, plus an apology.

But the MoD has said the legal process is still ongoing and it cannot comment until it is finished.

Sidney Butler, of Heworth Green, York, took part in a two-week trial at the Wiltshire military research centre during the 1950s as part of his National Service, but he is likely to receive nothing.

Based at RAF Topcliffe, near Thirsk, Mr Butler volunteered when he saw a request on a notice board for people to take part in research into the common cold.

Mr Butler said: "When we got there we may have taken part in cold research, but we were also told we would be involved in nerve gas research and in those days we couldn't say no as it was military discipline.

"It involved going into a room with a mask on and having nerve gas released and then taking the mask off. They observed you afterwards and it was quite difficult."

Following the experiments Mr Butler suffered chest problems and was unable to focus properly - complications which were still affecting him on the train back to RAF Topcliffe.

Since then, the 72-year-old has experienced problems with his chest and finds his colds last a lot longer than other people's.

He has attempted to get compensation before, but says he has always been "fobbed off" by the MoD. When he tried to get more information from the Veterans' Agency and the MoD on the back of the news about the compensation pay-out he said he once again met a brick wall.

He said: "We are back at stage one, where nobody is saying anything. I feel cheated in the sense that I didn't know what was going on. I had written letters some years earlier and was fobbed off. I would have thought that a precedent had been set now."

The litigation has been brought by Leigh, Day & Co solicitors and Thomson, Snell & Passmore solicitors on behalf of 360 veterans who were subject to chemical warfare testing.

In a statement Leigh, Day & Co said: "The parties are engaged in a mediation process to seek to resolve the claims. The mediation process has not yet concluded and the details are confidential. While we are aware of various press reports concerning the matter, it would be inappropriate for us to comment at this stage as to do so could jeopardise our clients' position.

"We remain optimistic the claims will be satisfactorily resolved in the near future and will provide a further statement at that time."