Gulf veterans get aid to sue MoD

More than 45 Gulf war veterans who claim to suffer from Desert Storm syndrome have been granted legal aid to sue the Ministry of Defence for negligence. In total, more than 500 servicemen and women are seeking compensation.

Labour demanded yesterday that the Government open an urgent inquiry into the causes of the debilitating illness from which hundreds of British veterans claim to suffer.

There are more than 20,000 United States veterans who are believed to be victims of the syndrome. The American authorities, who officially accept its existence, have launched 30 research projects. The British, however, continue to deny that there is sucha thing as Desert Storm syndrome.

Sufferers complain of vomiting, breathing and eyesight problems, depression, severe headaches and memory loss. They say their illness has been caused by a combination of factors resulting from the Gulf war, including experimental vaccinations given to soldiers before the war; exposure to depleted uranium used in artillery and tank shells; and exposure to Iraqi chemical and biological weapons. The US Senate has disclosed that traces of nerve gas were identified in the war zone.