Written question asked by Countess of Mar (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour) on Tuesday, 13 January 2009.

Gulf War Illnesses

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Answer by Lord Tunnicliffe on 9 December (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 257), whether the question of poisoning by organophosphates or related compounds was addressed in the 2003 Medical Research Council review of Gulf research; and whether any comparable review has been conducted in the past five years.

Answer: In 2003 the Medical Research Council (MRC) asked the Military Health Research Advisory Group (MHRAG) to undertake a comprehensive review of relevant Gulf research. The review made a number of recommendations on where future research might focus and provided additional advice to the Ministry of Defence. Organophosphates were one of the topics addressed and full details of the findings can be found in the published review. The MRC has not conducted subsequent co-ordinated strategic reviews on research into Gulf Veterans' illnesses. Exposure to organophosphate pesticides during the 1990-91 Gulf conflict is of concern to some veterans and the Ministry of Defence continues to monitor ongoing research in this area through its membership of the Official Group on Organophosphates, chaired by Defra.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 287; 706 c134WA
Session: 2008-09
Related items: Gulf War Illnesses
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
Oral questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Health hazards Iraq-Kuwait conflict Research Gulf War syndrome Organophosphates Medical Research Council Veterans
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk