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Telegraph 5th October 1996
THE Ministry of Defence could be liable for millions of pounds in damages after admitting for the first time yesterday that British troops serving in the Gulf war were exposed to chemicals capable of causing illness. It said that many troops were exposed to harmful pesticides, some of which were bought locally in large quantities, rather than supplied through official channels. Some were sprayed haphazardly by untrained personnel to kill bugs and flies in billets in the desert of Saudi Arabia to reduce the risk of dysentery and other diseases. Campaigners on behalf of about 1,000 veterans who became ill after Gulf service said the admission was a "significant step" towards proving the existence of so-called Gulf war syndrome. The admission came after analysis by military doctors of the records of 750 British servicemen and servicewomen who took part in a medical assessment programme. The analysis showed a higher level of exposure among British troops to pesticides made from organophosphates [OPs] than had previously been thought. OPs are known to cause the condition known as sheep dip illness among people who are exposed to it in large volumes, although the amounts used in the Gulf are believed to have been in much lower concentrations. OPs poisoning leads to a number of symptoms, such as numbness in the fingers and other extremities. Medical experts say that it normally shows itself within three months of exposure. While the ministry has always known that a certain amount of OPs was supplied through official channels, it now appears that the local purchase of large volumes of pesticides was sanctioned by senior officers. Until now the ministry has said that OPs were used only to delouse Iraqi prisoners. But Nicholas Soames, the Armed Forces minister, admitted yesterday that some OPs were used around British troops.
The records of all 750 Gulf war veterans known by the MoD to have become ill after service in the Gulf will now be looked at again to see if their illness can be explained by exposure to organophosphates. Doctors remained doubtful about the existence of a single syndrome, although they said that the ministry's admission might help to explain some of the illnesses suffered by veterans. Richard Turnbull, who served as an electrician in Saudi Arabia and now suffers from asthma, emphysema and angina, said: "Every morning between five and six a tanker would spray everything with insecticide designed to cut down the mosquitoes and anything else and we would be covered in it. At meal times they would walk through with an insecticide gun blowing out smoke - and again you'd be covered." Mr Soames said that the ministry "continues to keep an open mind" about the existence of a specific syndrome, which remained unproven. In a letter to Michael Colvin, the chairman of the Commons defence select committee, he said the ministry had been wrong in giving evidence to the committee that only one pesticide had been used to treat Iraqi prisoners. "We now have information that certain OP pesticides were also used in the Gulf; these were dimethyl phosphorothionate, diazinon and azamathiphos. We are conducting urgent investigations into the extent of use of such pesticides and I will write to you once we have a clearer picture on this. "We wish to know whether any of the Gulf veterans may be ill as a result of exposure to OPs so that we can ensure they are receiving the most appropriate treatment." Richard Barr, a solicitor representing 125 veterans claiming damages from the ministry, said the admission was "an important step towards accepting the existence of the syndrome". "The MoD admission is very much more significant than it appears at first sight." He said that further work was needed to study the effects of OPs when combined with vaccinations given to protect soldiers from biological and chemical weapons. |
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