VICTORY FOR BRITISH GULF WAR VETERANS -- "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."
Oil wells burning during the Gulf War.
For more about the Gulf War and related
illnesses, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/ses
search.php?q=gulf+war&op=ph
Story here...
http://www.manchester
eveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1019
511_victory_for_gulf_veterans
Story below:
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Victory for Gulf veterans
by Ian Craig
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."
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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."
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