Senedd calls for focus on veterans at risk of cancer
Ms Morgan said the winchman, who trained Prince William while at RAF Valley, flew more than 2,000 hours on Sea King helicopters carrying out search and rescue missions.
She explained Zach was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable form of blood cancer, aged only 33 years old when he was stationed in north Wales in 2013.
Ms Morgan said Zach came to see her in June last year after discovering a causal link between his cancer and the fumes he breathed while working on RAF helicopters.
Following his diagnosis, Zach, along with three other veterans affected by cancer, founded the Fly Hard, Fight Hard group to raise awareness.
Ms Morgan said: 'Zach's health progressively started to deteriorate from about autumn 2022 but his determination and fight to get justice never waned.
'He wasn't just fighting for himself – he was fighting for other people who had been affected too."
The MP-turned-Senedd member expressed concerns about claims the Ministry of Defence may have known about the dangers of toxic fumes as far back as 1999.
She called on the Welsh Government to press the MoD to reveal the number of veterans who flew in helicopters, were exposed to toxic fumes and consequently developed cancer.
'This is data that is urgently needed,' she said. 'The MoD has already started this process but it needs to act quickly because people are dying.'
Responding to the debate on July 2, Ken Skates said medical care and occupational health in the armed forces is the responsibility of the MoD.
Mr Skates said he would raise the matter with Alistair Carns, the UK minister for veterans.
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