BRITAIN said yesterday that pesticides used in the 1991 Gulf War could be linked to crippling illnesses suffered by veterans, popularly known as Gulf War Syndrome.
"The use of some OPs (organophosphate pesticides) may possibly be a clue to the conditions that some Gulf War veterans have suffered from," said Mr Nicholas Soames, Secretary of State for the Armed Forces. "It will be investigated fully and with the utmost care."
The pesticides, some bought locally, were used to control insect borne disease in the desert during the campaign.
Britain previously stated it believed Gulf War Syndrome did not exist and any ailments were caused by the stress of war. But it has investigated 750 Gulf War veterans under a medical assessment programme launched three years ago.
Veterans say a "cocktail" of immunisations to protect them against chemical and biological warfare was the likely cause of symptoms including chronic fatigue, asthma and skin complaints. Some veterans are now confined to wheelchairs and claim their children have suffered birth defects.
Solicitors acting for syndrome sufferers, who number about 1,040, welcomed the news. "There is a lot more to it than he is saying," Ms Hilary Meredith of the Gulf War Solicitors Action Group said.
"We have thought for a long time that OPs were one of the main causes. The government should have known about it a lot earlier."
About 51,000 Britons were involved in the war against Iraq following President Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.
During a review of operational and environmental conditions during the Gulf War, it became clear that organophosphate pesticides were used more widely than had been believed, Mr Soames said.
Authority was given to purchase some OPs in the Gulf area because of the difficulty in delivering sufficient quantities of pesticides to the Gulf in the early stages of the war and the "overriding need" to protect the British frontline troops.
In July 1995, Britain's main doctors' body, the Royal College of Physicians, cast doubt on the existence of Gulf War Syndrome.