Sharing the trauma of Gulf War syndrome

Ross Perot praised Gulf War hero Flt Lt John Nichol

By Melissa Jackson BBC News Online

British Gulf War veterans "deserve better" treatment, their families told a visiting delegation of US congressmen at Westminster.

Former US presidential candidate Ross Perot, also on the panel, and his colleagues are conducting the hearing as part of a US Congressional sub-committee investigation into Gulf War-related illnesses among US forces.

It is the first time a US congressional committee has held a meeting at the British Houses of Parliament and evidence gathered will be included in a report to Congress on their return to America.

Ross Perot meets Samantha Thompson

Those invited to address the panel at the start of the two-day session, included veterans, their families, legal representatives and medical experts, who all pressed the need for a full public inquiry into Gulf War syndrome in the UK.

Veterans and their families outlined details of the debilitating Gulf War syndrome, which is said to have affected about 10% of the 50,000 British service personnel who served in the 1991 conflict.

They feel their appeals for recognition of the various illnesses suffered by many Gulf War troops, which has sometimes led to their premature deaths, have been ignored by the British Government.

After a protracted political battle, the US Government has now acknowledged the existence of Gulf War syndrome and delegates, including Mr Perot, said they hoped the British Government would follow suit.

Perot, a Texas billionaire who has funded research into the condition, expressed anger at the attitudes of the UK and US political and medical establishments which have tended to put the sickness down to the stresses and strains of warfare.

He said: "This is not stress. This is troops in combat wounded by chemical agents.

This is not stress. This is troops in combat wounded by chemical agents.

Ross Perot

"Our government is now being very aggressive on this issue.

"But our real challenge is to get the British government to take the same kind of aggressive attitude and get them to react."

Motor neurone deaths

An independent public inquiry would establish whether exposure to a cocktail of infections, anti-nerve gas tablets and organo-phosphate chemicals could have damaged the servicemen's immune systems, say campaigners.

Some Gulf War veterans have died from motor neurone disease and they are more than twice as likely to suffer from this condition, compared with people of their age-group who did not go to the Gulf.

British troops deserve better, they are not just numbers, but people... and should start being treated that way

Samantha Thompson, Gulf War veteran widow

One such victim was Nigel Thompson, a former Royal Navy serviceman, who died of motor neurone disease earlier this year, aged 44, leaving a widow and a seven-year-old daughter.

His wife, Samantha Thompson, made an emotional speech to the panel, in which she called for a public inquiry.

She said: "This has to be the last time something like this happens.

"British troops deserve better, they are not just numbers, but people, intelligent people, and should start being treated that way."

Clearly moved by Mrs Thompson's testimony, Republican Congressman Christopher Shays, chairman of the committee, turned to her daughter Hannah saying: "Your daddy, young lady, was a hero."

Gulf War hero Flight Lieutenant John Nichol also called for full recognition of Gulf War syndrome.

Addressing the panel, he said: "If there is nothing to hide, why shy away from an open inquiry to establish why our veterans are sick and dying?"

Our real challenge is to get the British Government to...react

Ross Perot, former US presidential candidate

The hearing is being hosted by the Royal British Legion and the Inter-Parliamentary Gulf War Group on the health problems of Gulf War veterans.

They hope it will encourage the UK Government to respond to demands for a public inquiry.

On Wednesday Mr Shays and Mr Perot will give presentations to about 150 peers and MPs, outlining their views of the progress being made in the US to identify the causes of Gulf War illness and the actions being taken to prevent problems arising in the future.

The assembled peers and MPs will also hear a statement given by Ian Townsend, Secretary General of The Royal British Legion.