MoD concedes that Gulf War syndrome does exist
By Michael Evans, Defence Editor
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1852147,00.htmlBRITISH soldiers who
suffered debilitating illnesses after serving in the 1991 Gulf War were victims
of a conflict-related syndrome, an appeals tribunal ruled yesterday.
The landmark case involving the former Trooper Daniel Martin, 35, of the Life
Guards, who is suffering from asthma, anxiety and memory loss, forced the
Ministry of Defence to admit for the first time that the label of “Gulf War
syndrome” was justified.
NI_MPU('middle');The department’s change of mind, contained in a judgment by the
war pensions appeal tribunal in London yesterday, will have far-reaching
implications. At least 1,500 other Gulf War veterans will now be able to claim a
war pension.
The veterans have blamed the illnesses on the cocktail of vaccines that they
were given for protection against chemical and biological warfare. They also
suspected that the organophosphate pesticides used to spray their tents to kill
desert bugs may have contributed.
The tribunal, in a reserved judgment, was critical of the MoD’s previous refusal
to accept the existence of Gulf War syndrome. The panel, which included a
consultant psychiatrist and physician, said: “Fourteen years after the end of
the Gulf War, the Veterans Agency (part of the MoD) has conceded the validity of
the label GWS (Gulf War syndrome).
“In that time many applications for such a condition were rejected, there have
been numerous and expensive court cases and there are at present a number of
ex-servicemen awaiting the result of this hearing.
“It is not for this tribunal to ascertain why such a late concession was made,
but the kindest comment that can be made is that the lateness of this concession
was unfortunate.”
Former Trooper Martin, from Luton, said that he had fought for five years for a
war pension on the basis that he was suffering from Gulf War syndrome. The MoD
rejected his application because he “was determined to stick with that label”.
“I am delighted with the result. It will benefit all the other veterans
suffering worse illnesses than me,” he said.
Mark McGhee, a lawyer with Linder Myers solicitors, in Manchester, who acted for
Mr Martin, said that it was an “historic test case”. Mr Martin served in Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq.
Although the tribunal accepted that Gulf War syndrome was “the appropriate
medical label”, it said that Mr Martin had failed to produce reliable evidence
to satisfy the burden of proof that Gulf War syndrome was “a discrete
pathological entity”. Last night the MoD welcomed this finding.



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