Written question asked by Tom Cox (Labour) on Tuesday, 18 January 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 1 February 2005. It was answered by Ivor Caplin (Labour) on Tuesday, 1 February 2005 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's latest published assessment is of the illnesses suffered by Gulf War veterans; and if he will make a statement. - Inc figure and ref to MOD website.

Answer: Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's latest published assessment is of the illnesses suffered by Gulf War veterans; and if he will make a statement. [210319] Mr. Caplin: The Government's approach to the question of illnesses among veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf conflict is science-based. To support this approach, we take expert independent scientific and medical advice on the complex and sensitive issues involved. We have invested £8.5 million on independent research projects investigating the concerns of veterans and our policy is to encourage researchers to publish results in the peer reviewed scientific press. Further details about published results are available on our website at: www.gulfwar.mod.uk.

Secondary information