Victory for Gulf Veterans

Ian Craig
12/10/2007

THE Ministry of Defence is to officially recognise Gulf War Syndrome
following a 17-year campaign by ex-servicemen.

Defence Minister Lord Drayson made the admission in a `grovelling apology'
to Manchester peer Lord Morris, who has led the way in highlighting problems
faced by veterans of the 1990-91 conflict.

Lord Drayson said: "The issue of Gulf War Syndrome will be fully recognised
by the Ministry of Defence and I accept on behalf of the MoD that this issue
has not been handled well from the beginning.

"The department was slow to recognise the emerging ill- health issues and to
put measures in place to address them. We have apologised for this and I
repeat that apology today."

Some peers believe that what Lord Craig suggested was a `belated apology'
was influenced by Gordon Brown who took a different view to his predecessor
Tony Blair about the `undiagnosed' illnesses suffered by veterans.

Lord Morris, former MP for Wythenshawe, called for official recognition of
the syndrome in the Lords, saying it was disquieting that 17 years on from the
conflict wrangling with veterans over pensions still drags on, with no
visible sign of closure.

He said it was deeply shaming that one Gulf War veteran, Terence Walker, had
his pension slashed from 100 per cent to 40 per cent and died shortly after
`in financial ruin'.

Lord Drayson said the MoD had written to veterans to tell them they can use
the label Gulf War Syndrome and are now working with experts to develop a
rehabilitation programme.

Lord Morris said later: "Nobody has ever before now said sorry to those
veterans left in broken health and those bereaved after the most toxic war in
British history."
Following a landmark ex-serviceman�s pension tribunal appeal in October 2005
the MoD has accepted gulf war syndrome as a "useful umbrella term" for
conditions which are linked to the 1990/91 gulf conflict however they do not
accept it exists as a separate disease.
An MoD spokesman said: "We have long accepted some veterans of the 1990/91
gulf conflict are ill and some of their ill health is related to their
services."