Gulf War Syndrome “is real”
An independent inquiry has concluded that so-called Gulf War syndrome is a real phenomenon.
The inquiry, headed by former law lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, said that the government needs to acknowledge that the thousands of the soldiers who fought in the 1991 war to liberate Kuwait are suffering illness as a direct result of the conflict.
“The Ministry of Defence has never admitted that their illnesses are due to their service in the Gulf,” Lord Lloyd said today.
“What the veterans now want above all else is a clear recognition … they are ill because they served in the Gulf. Are they entitled to that recognition? In our view they are.”
The inquiry was funded privately and anonymously after the government decided not to hold an official investigation.
While there are a number of probable causes and symptoms, the number of people who suffer ill affects is significantly higher amongst those that served in the 1991 war compared with soldiers who served in the Balkans or those that remained at home.
Because of this Lord Lloyd concluded that it was fair to describe the illnesses collectively as Gulf War syndrome.
The inquiry called on the MoD to establish a fund to give compensation to veterans of the 1991 conflict whose health had been damaged.
“It is not acceptable for the MoD to say ‘yes you are ill, but since we do not know which of the possible causes has caused your particular illness, we are not going to admit your illness is due to your service’,” Lord Lloyd said.
An MoD spokesperson told the BBC: “When we have had the opportunity to fully assess Lord Lloyd’s findings and recommendations, we will consider our response.
“His inquiry was, of course, unofficial. But we will treat his findings as we would any other person’s with a serious viewpoint on these important issues.”
They went on to say that the MoD has always accepted that some veterans became ill with ailments related to their experiences, including post traumatic stress disorder.
But they added: “The consensus of the scientific community is that there are too many symptoms for syndrome to be used as a covering term.”
Lord Lloyd rejected this, stating: “People who are ill like to have a name for their illnesses. Rather than tell a child that his father died of symptoms and signs of ill-defined conditions, it is surely better to tell him that he died of Gulf War syndrome.”
Stress, multiple vaccinations to guard against chemical or biological weapons attack, exposure to pesticides, smoke from oil-burning fires and organophosphates, chemicals that have been shown to affect the human nervous system, are amongst the possible causes of the syndrome.
Lord Lloyd said around 6,000 Gulf War veterans are affected by symptoms.
“Stress alone could not explain the illnesses. There was something else as well. Once again, we see no reason why the MoD should not admit that fact,” he added.
The report added that further research was needed to pinpoint the causes more precisely.
