Retired judge to probe Gulf War illnesses
Date: 07-Jul-04
Country: UK
Lord Lloyd of Berwick, a former Law Lord, said yesterday an anonymous private donor had funded his inquiry to "assess the circumstances that have led to the ill health and in some cases death of over 6,000 British troops following deployment to the Gulf."
He said he had invited the government to participate. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said it was considering the request but had not taken a decision.
The question of whether there is a "Gulf War Syndrome" of diseases that affect veterans of the conflict has been argued bitterly on both sides of the Atlantic.
Veterans and their supporters suspect that vaccines given to troops or other environmental factors have made thousands sick.
Both the United States and Britain pay war pensions to some veterans who have fallen ill, implying recognition of a link between their service and their illnesses.
But they say that no direct link has been established showing service in the Gulf caused particular symptoms, and that veterans are no more likely than others to die of ill health.
The government has repeatedly rejected calls for an official independent inquiry, saying it has spent millions of pounds on scientific research into the question.
"We accept that Gulf veterans report more ill health than other service personnel, and are determined to ascertain why," the Ministry of Defence said in a statement. "We are researching these issues at a cost of 8.5 million pounds."
The National Gulf Veterans and Families Association, a pressure group that has lobbied for the government to accept that there is a Gulf War Syndrome, said it welcomed Lord Lloyd's inquiry and hoped government ministers would take part.
