‘No unique Gulf War Syndrome’
There is ‘little evidence’ to back the view that British veterans of the 1991 Iraq war suffer from so-called Gulf War syndrome, according to the Medical Research Council.
The report said ‘there is no unique Gulf War Syndrome.’
Furthermore, the MRC reports concluded: ‘Increasingly detailed medical investigations have detected very few actual abnormalities and no consistent associations.
‘In short there is no evidence from UK or international research for a single syndrome related specifically to service in the Gulf.’
The MRC report suggested that servicemen were more at risk from depression and alcohol than those ‘exposed’ to the use of depleted uranium shells or the cocktail of vaccinations issued during the military campaign to protect against chemical and biological germ warfare.
Critics insist that soldiers suffer a variety of illnesses including tiredness, headaches, poor concentration, memory loss and numbness.
Charles Plumridge of the Gulf Veterans and Families Association pooh-poohed the study. ‘It is exactly what we have come to expect from the MoD and government-funded research. If you look at the record of the MoD over the last few years they have only funded research which comes out in their favour.’
The lobby group, which has some 4,500 members who claim to exhibit Gulf War syndrome, called on Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon to review the possibility of a second form of Gulf War syndrome.
Mr. Plumridge said: ‘They just want to sweep us under the carpet as quickly as possible because they are going to have veterans from Gulf War Two coming along.’
Lewis Moonie, the armed forces minister, told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper: ‘This review shows there is no case to justify a separate Gulf War Syndrome.’
