MoD knew Gulf War Jabs Danger

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MoD knew Gulf War Jabs Danger

Sat, 29 Oct 2005 19:26:46 +0100

 

 

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16282745 & method=full & siteid=62484\

& headline=exclusive--mod-knew-gulf-war-jabs-danger--name_page.html

 

 

23 October 2005

 

EXCLUSIVE: MoD KNEW GULF WAR JABS DANGER

Declassified.. the secret MoD papers that reveal Govt WAS aware Gulf

War jabs could poison our troops

 

By Grant Hodgson Grant.Hodgson

 

THE Government KNEW it could be poisoning thousands of British troops

with controversial vaccinations in the first Gulf War.

 

Bombshell Ministry of Defence documents show once and for all that

military bosses were aware of the dangers of giving servicemen and

women multiple jabs for diseases like anthrax.

 

This cocktail of vaccinations has been blamed for thousands of cases

of Gulf War Syndrome.

 

The documents - obtained by the Sunday Mirror under the Freedom of

Information Act - also reveal that the MoD experimented on troops to

find out how to make the anthrax vaccine work faster.

 

Last night veterans demanded an inquiry. Shaun Rusling, vice-chairman

of the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association, said: " These

documents show thousands of British troops were experimented on like

medical guinea-pigs. "

 

One recently declassified document comes from the MoD's medical

directorate. The February 1991 letter reveals commanders were worried

about the effects of the vaccinations.

 

Referring to concern about the combination of jabs for anthrax, the

plague and whooping cough, it says: " There are worries that the third

Anthrax/Pertussis together with the second Plague vaccinations will

have a more severe pattern of side effects together with a larger

number of side-effects. "

 

The next line, which campaigners believe lists side-effects, has been

blacked out. Another letter, dated August 1990, says the inoculations

" would also provide a unique opportunity to obtain human data on the

efficiency of the Whooping Cough/ Anthrax combination " .

 

Mr Rusling, 46, who forced the MoD to accept he had Gulf War Syndrome

in 2003 after a 10-year battle, said: " I am now calling for a full

public inquiry. " The Sunday Mirror has long campaigned for Gulf War

Syndrome to be recognised as a real illness - and for veterans to get

compensation.

 

Campaigners claim the syndrome has hit up to 9,000 veterans. It has

also been linked to 250 suicides of former servicemen.

 

But the Government has never admitted that the illness even exists.

 

Solicitor Mark McGhee, who has handled cases for veterans, said: " I

have no doubt these papers would support any legal claim that veterans

may want to take against the MoD for compensation. " Gulf veteran Derek

Hall, 54, who has suffered from temporary blindness, kidney damage and

arthritis, said: " Our lives have been torn to shreds by what they did

to us. "

 

The documents were released by the MoD after pressure by Gulf veteran

Tony Flint, 52, from Tottenham, North London, who has suffered from

chronic fatigue and joint problems since a series of jabs before he

served in Iraq.

 

He said: " I asked the MoD for any documents which discussed the

administering of drugs to troops. I was shocked at the casual way

troops seemed to be regarded as nothing more than guinea-pigs. "

 

An MoD spokesman said: " We do not believe a public inquiry could

usefully contribute to answering the basic question of why some Gulf

War veterans have become ill. Only scientific research, we believe, is

likely to be able to do that and that is why we have spent more than

£8million on research into this issue. We do not recognise Gulf War

Syndrome as a medical condition. "

 

-YOU can contact the NGVFA on 01482 833812.

 

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