David Laws to lead commons debate on gulf war illness

David Laws, the Liberal Democrat Deputy Defence Spokesman, has won a debate on Gulf War Illness. It will be held tomorrow evening in the House of Commons. Yeovil MP David Laws will call on the Government to launch a full and independent inquiry into the illnesses suffered by Gulf War Veterans. David Laws is raising this issue on behalf of his constituent, Mrs Sam Thompson, whose husband served in the Gulf and died earlier this year.

David Laws MP said:

“ I was very pleased to have been able to secure this debate on Gulf War illnesses. This is a particularly important subject for me as a family in my constituency was affected by Gulf War illness, and my constituent Mr. Nigel Thompson died of a suspected Gulf War related illness this year.

“ I will be calling on the Minister for Veteran’s affairs to instigate a full and independent inquiry into these Gulf War illnesses. I will also argue for a ‘no–fault‘ compensation package for Gulf war veterans who have been suffering ill health.

“ Ministry of Defence studies have shown that British troops deployed in the Gulf were more likely to have been unwell than those who haven’t, but it has been difficult to find the precise causes of this problem or to get full official recognition of their needs. A full public inquiry is needed to revolve this issue once and for all, and to give our veterans the support they deserve.

” It is also important for serving members of the armed forces to identify the sources of these illnesses so as to avoid any further problems.

“I will be reminding the Government that there was no delay in the response of our troops to the call to duty in 1990 and there should be no delay over discharging our full debt to pursue this matter now in an open and public way.”

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