By Charles Miller, Defence and Diplomatic News, PA News
Some Gulf War veterans could be suffering from pesticide poisoning, the Ministry of Defence disclosed today.
New evidence has emerged within the last week which reveals that much greater quantities of pesticides were used than previously thought.
Armed Forces Minister Nicholas Soames admitted that evidence he gave to the Commons Defence Committee about the use of organophosphate pesticides in the Gulf had now proved to wrong.
The medical records of the 735 Gulf veterans so far examined by MoD doctors are now being urgently re-examined.
In a letter to Defence Committee chairman Michael Colvin, Mr Soames said: "The use of OP's May possibly be a clue to the conditions that some Gulf War veterans have suffered from."
"We are now urgently re-examining the records of those who have attended the medical assessement programme and have exhibited a specific range of symtoms, to establish whether or not their health is likely to have been affected."
It is the first time the MoD has admitted that there might be a single physical cause in a number of Gulf War syndrome cases.
"It will be investigated fully and with the utmost care," said Mr Soames. "We wish to know whether any of the Gulf veterans may be ill as a result of exposure to OP's so that we can ensure that they are recieving the most appropriate treatment. We must get to the root of this."
However, senior MoD sources insisted that only a handful of veterans were likely to have been affected by pesticides.
Investigations are focusing on environmental health staff from the Royal Army Medical Corps and a small number from the Royal Navy, who actually adminsitered pesticides as sprays or powders to kill insects and protect against disease.
Detailed searches of records and questioning of individual veterans revealed that several pesticides, including some that were purchased locally, were widely used to spray tents and base areas.
Army chiefs were acutely aware of the risk from flies and other insects, which wreaked havoc among troops in previous desert campaigns.
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