Gulf War Syndrome inquiry not ruled out, says Minister
A Defence Minister has said that the Government is not ruling out holding a public enquiry into Gulf War Syndrome.
Gulf War Syndrome is an umbrella term covering officially untraceable illnesses suffered by veterans of the 1991 conflict in Iraq.
Some veterans claim that illnesses, ranging from osteoporosis, cancer and psychological problems, suffered after the conflict are directly linked to their service in Iraq.
Variously claimed explanations for the illnesses range from exposure to burning oil wells, organophosphates and a cocktail of vaccinations given before the invasion.
Despite some circumstantial evidence being available to support many of the above, conclusive evidence for what – if anything – Gulf War Syndrome is continues to evade the medical establishment.
Some have even argued that it is simply a manifestation of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has always strongly denied that anything amounting to a “syndrome” exists, though it has accepted that some veterans have become ill and paid benefits accordingly.
The MoD has also consistently refused calls for a public inquiry, claiming that medical research has not shown any evidence of an identifiable syndrome.
Speaking yesterday to the BBC, Ivor Caplin said: “I haven’t ruled out holding a public inquiry, but I think it’s important that at the present time we allow the independent research by the Medical Research Council to take its full and proper course.
“I’ve been as open as I can be in the year that I’ve been in post to be clear with colleagues in the House of Commons that we accept that there are Gulf veterans’ illnesses; my predecessors have done the same. What we’re concerned about is to try and ensure that there’s a proper look at how these events occur.
“That’s why we’re spending in the region of £8.5m – at least £8.5m – on this piece of research and working with international partners, to look at the research that is going on in other countries.”
“Every piece of research that has been done by the Medical Research Council has been published. I think on our website there are something in the region of 130 pages of research and information relating to Gulf veterans’ illnesses.”
Though the Goverment is refusing to accept the syndrome’s existence, it has lost a number of high profile legal cases on its veterans policy.
In December 2003 a war pensions tribunal ruled that fomer Royal Engineer Alex Izett’s brittle bone disease could be linked to the injections he recieved prior to the Gulf War.
Then in June 2003, the High Court upheld a claim by a former serviceman, Shaun Rusling, who argued that a range of health problems he had suffered from were attributable to his service in the Gulf War – although the Court did not mention Gulf War Syndrome by name.
Mr Rusling was contesting the Veterans Agency’s refusal to pay pensions to veterans claiming to be suffering from Gulf War Syndrome because the Ministry of Defence does not recognise the condition.
