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Scottish
Parliament
Public
Petitions Committee
Wednesday
17 March 2004
(Morning)
[THE
CONVENER opened the meeting at 10:02]
New
Petitions
Gulf
War Syndrome (PE709)
The Convener (Michael McMahon): Good
morning everyone, and welcome to the fifth meeting in 2004 of
the Public Petitions Committee. We have received apologies from
Sandra White and Carolyn Leckie.
The
first new petition is PE709. The petitioner, Alexander Izett,
calls on the Scottish Parliament to initiate an inquiry into the
health and other devolved aspects of gulf war syndrome.
Alexander Izett is present to give evidence in support of his
petition.
I
welcome Mr Izett to the committee. You have three minutes to
make your introductory remarks, after which members will ask
questions.
Alexander Izett: I thank the Scottish Parliament for letting me come to the
committee today. As members know, the gulf war started in
1990-91. Many British forces were vaccinated with different
inoculations—sometimes up to 10 in one day—which was not
just morally but medically wrong. I received nine inoculations
in one day, including anthrax, pertussis and plague.
As
members might know, the anthrax inoculation has neither been
released for use on humans nor has it received a licence in the
United Kingdom. The pertussis vaccine, which was given to troops
as an adjuvant, should not have been given to them in the way
that it was. Furthermore, although the Ministry of Defence
received a warning that it was unsafe to give those inoculations
in such numbers and in the way that they were given, it ignored
the fact and carried on with the inoculations. That meant that
many gulf war veterans, including myself, became ill. I was
never deployed to the gulf area although I had received all the
inoculations in preparation for deployment. Two days before my
planned deployment, the war finished and I was not sent.
Since
1993, my health has gone seriously downhill. The same has
happened to many veterans in Scotland, England and the United
States of America. Even after I won the tribunal,
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the
Government continues to deny that the inoculations that I
received, which the MOD classed as secret at the time, caused my
auto-immune-induced osteoporosis, depression and other
illnesses. The MOD will still not accept the facts of my case. I
am more than disgusted with the way in which the matter has been
handled. I hope that the Scottish Parliament will back my
petition and try to look into the issue.
I
live in Germany now. Given the treatment in the UK for gulf
veterans, I cannot and will not return to live in Scotland. I
would not get the medical treatment that I require at present.
The treatment that I am getting in Germany is being paid for by
the German authorities. That should not have to happen, because
the illnesses that I suffer were caused by the Ministry of
Defence and, as my employer, it should be forced to pay for any
medical treatment that I need.
The
war pensions scheme, under which the British Government pays a
pension to people who have been injured in a war or during
military service, should be reviewed. People like me are living
on £61.50 a week. We are incapacitated and have no other means
of income. It is likely that we will never work again.
I
do not know whether members of the Scottish Parliament know that
more than 750 veterans have died since the end of the first gulf
war. Many of them committed suicide because they felt that
neither their cause nor the health issues that they suffered was
taken seriously. It is a disturbing fact that 750 people have
died in the space of 13 years. I find it upsetting to see the
way in which the British Government has treated its
soldiers—the brave men, who at one time would have given their
lives for their countries, have been swept under the carpet.
The Convener: Thank you very much for your presentation, Mr Izett.
Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): I
have a couple of questions. Although I have read newspaper
articles and so forth, I am not up on the issue. I am interested
in a lot of what you have said. The figure that you quoted in
your last statement for the number of men who have died is
horrific. How many of the veterans who have been affected in the
way that you describe and who continue to suffer from the
syndrome are Scottish? You mentioned that you are now living in
Germany and spoke about the health care that you are receiving
there. How do other countries deal with the issue? Have any
other countries accepted gulf war syndrome? If so, how is it
being dealt with in those countries?
Alexander Izett: I am sure that members will have heard about the National Gulf
Veterans and Families Association. We have more than 6,000
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members,
of whom at least 2,000 are Scottish. The problem is that a lot
of serving servicemen will not come forward. They are scared
that their career will be damaged if they do so. Many people are
also too proud to come forward. They feel that they have served
their Queen and country and that the Government would not do the
things that we have written proof that it did. That is why I
decided to petition the Scottish Parliament. I hope that, if
people become more aware of what happened to them, more of them
will come forward.
There
has been recognition of gulf war syndrome. Mr Shaun Rusling, who
unfortunately has not turned up this morning, took his case,
which the MOD had challenged, to the High Court in London and
won. Gulf war syndrome exists. All the British medical journals
recognise the syndrome, but despite all that, the Ministry of
Defence continues to insist that we are not suffering from an
illness and that the syndrome does not exist.
Things
are probably run better in Germany than they are here in Britain
because the medical treatment is not done through the national
health service. Although people do not take out private medical
insurance, there is a choice about where to go—you can take
your pick.
Linda Fabiani: How have other countries that were involved in the first gulf
war—albeit in a smaller way than the United Kingdom and
America—dealt with claims of gulf war syndrome?
Alexander Izett: As far as I know, Denmark has accepted that gulf war syndrome
exists and has made some pay-outs. The French troops that went
to the gulf did not receive the inoculations and they are
showing practically no symptoms of gulf war syndrome; the only
troops that have been affected are those that were attached to
the British and American forces, which received the
inoculations. A staggering number of non-deployed veterans who
had the inoculations and who are ill are coming forward.
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): You
have asked us to initiate an inquiry into the health aspects of
gulf war syndrome and the other devolved matters that it raises.
I will press you to be slightly more specific, because a number
of the issues that you have raised really concern reserved
matters. You have also mentioned issues to do with the courts
and have talked about successfully prosecuting your case through
the courts. In both those areas, we have no locus. Will you home
in on what specifically you want the Scottish Parliament to do?
Alexander Izett: If possible, I would like the Scottish Parliament to look into
the health aspects of the gulf veterans' situation so that they
get the
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priority
treatment that they desperately need. Many families have been
affected. For example, 80 per cent of our members are no longer
in the same relationship as they were in at the time of the gulf
war. They cannot hold on to relationships, they are depressed
and they are committing suicide. A large number of veterans are
committing suicide because they do not feel that they are being
taken seriously or are getting proper health treatment. They
just cannot take the pain or the emotion any more. I would like
the health aspects to be made a priority so that people get
proper medical treatment and their illness is taken seriously.
Jackie Baillie: That is helpful.
Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): Good
morning. I have quite of bit of experience of dealing with the
issue—I have a file that is about 6in or 8in thick. Have the
Westminster Parliament and the American Government held
inquiries on gulf war syndrome? Have you had access to the
special health facility that the Ministry of Defence set up for
all gulf war veterans, which I believe is based in Bristol?
Alexander Izett: The only thing that I know the Ministry of Defence set up is the
gulf veterans' illnesses unit, which is in London. I went to an
appointment at the GVIU, at which I was seen by Professor Lee.
He turned round and said blatantly that it was all in my head
and that there was nothing wrong with me. That is the way in
which the Government treats the health aspects—it does not
care. It has told so many veterans that there is nothing wrong
with them and that they cannot prove clinically that they are
ill. The Ministry of Defence just will not accept that they are
ill. It is not prepared to investigate matters and to treat the
veterans who have been affected.
Helen Eadie: All reports of the Westminster Parliament and the Scottish
Parliament are highly accessible on the internet. There has been
a major inquiry at Westminster. Have you read the relevant
report, which covers health and all the other aspects, such as
benefits?
Alexander Izett: No, I have not, but I know which report you are talking about
and I have read parts of it. Veterans must apply for war
pensions—they do not get them automatically. They have to go
through the Ministry of Defence to get them and they are put
through such a fight, even though they are very ill.
It
took me five years to get my 50 per cent war pension. I ended up
going through a tribunal, which I won. The tribunal said that my
illnesses were definitely caused by the inoculations for anthrax
and pertussis. That was also backed up by a lieutenant colonel
who served in the Royal Army medical corps, who the Ministry of
Defence
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tried
to make a laughing stock of by saying that he was only a
psychiatrist. The Ministry of Defence and Parliament are not
taking the matter seriously.
I
have written on more than one occasion to the right honourable
Geoff Hoon and my questions have been ignored.
Mike Watson (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): I
have a question for Mr Izett that follows up on his final point.
The clinical director of psychiatry of the British forces health
service in Germany presented a paper, presumably after examining
you, and his view was taken into account, which is why you
received the 50 per cent pension. Am I right in thinking that
you had applied for a pension before but had not been granted
one?
10:15
Alexander Izett: Yes.
Mike Watson: It was only because of that report that you received the 50 per
cent pension.
Alexander Izett: Correct.
Mike Watson: As I understand it, the war pensions agency is an executive
agency of the UK Government. At least you have had some
recognition that, even if it is not gulf war syndrome, what
happened to you in preparation for the gulf war had some effect.
I link that with a point that you made in your submission. I
hope that I am quoting you correctly. You talked about
"what
the Government has done"
and
you said that you had written proof. I understood that there had
never been independent medical proof of a link. How are you able
to say that there is written proof? Can you point to what it is,
if it is not just this report from the psychiatrist?
Alexander Izett: Studies have been done by Dr Asa in America. She did a study on a
substance called squalene, which should not be and has never
been released for use in inoculations.
You
will perhaps remember when vials of anthrax were washed up on a
beach down south—I think it was last year sometime. Granada TV
got a hold of them, tested them and found squalene in them.
Granada TV then asked Dr Moonie to give a statement and he said
that although the vials of anthrax were tested at a Government
laboratory, there was no such substance as squalene in them.
Squalene is known to cause auto-immune problems—which means
that the body attacks its own tissues such as the bones, nerves,
heart and kidneys—which are the problems that gulf war
veterans seem to have.
Mike Watson: You are saying that there is proof but the Ministry of Defence is
not accepting it.
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Alexander Izett: Yes.
Mike Watson: The report on the BBC website said that you had been given
inoculations but you were not given information on them and they
were classified as secret. Therefore, as I understand it, as a
former serviceman, you have been denied access to the records
that show what was administered to you during the time that you
served. Is that information being withheld under the Official
Secrets Act 1989?
Alexander Izett: Yes. The records have not been declassified. The MOD admitted
that proper record keeping was not done. It did not have enough
time to note the inoculations on our records so they are not
there. That is the MOD's excuse, and 72 per cent of medical
records of troops who served in the gulf war in 1991 were lost.
Mike Watson: That concerns me greatly. How can you get treatment from a
hospital or doctor if you cannot tell them exactly what you have
been inoculated with? How could they formulate a response, other
than by responding to your symptoms? You have no way of knowing
or telling medical people what you have had.
Alexander Izett: No. A doctor or hospital can only treat the symptoms from which I
am suffering. No one knows what was in the inoculations. Even
the Ministry of Defence has said that it does not know. It
cannot say what each individual was given and when because the
record keeping was so bad. I have that admission in writing.
Mike Watson: I have one final point. You mentioned that you live in Germany
and that you are receiving treatment through the German health
service. How does that treatment differ from what you believe
you would get if you were still living in Scotland?
Alexander Izett: For instance, if I need an appointment with a specialist, I get
one within a fortnight. I have heard from other people who live
in Scotland that they wait for up to three years to be seen by
some specialists. That worries me.
John Scott (Ayr) (Con): I, too, am appalled by what you are saying. You spoke about
textbook references and, presumably, medical papers that
acknowledge gulf war syndrome. Can you provide the committee
with copies of those?
Alexander Izett: Yes—that is no problem.
John Scott: That might be helpful. You said that the High Court in England
accepted the existence of the condition. Has that decision been
accepted without challenge? Does the High Court judgment stand
or is the MOD challenging it in a higher court?
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Alexander Izett: Mr Rusling had three tribunal hearings, each of which found that
he suffered from gulf war syndrome. That is the title that the
tribunal gave to his illnesses. The MOD denied the finding three
times before taking the case to the High Court in London, where
it lost. I can submit a copy of the High Court's judgment to the
Scottish Parliament. That is no problem, as I have a copy from
Mr Rusling.
John Scott: Is the MOD taking the case beyond the High Court?
Alexander Izett: No. When I won my case in the tribunal, it refused to challenge
the ruling in the High Court—for a medical reason, rather than
on a point of law. If the MOD thought that my medical evidence
was not up to standard, it could have taken the case to the High
Court, but it refused to do that.
The Convener: Is it possible for us to advance this issue if there is not some
recognition of gulf war syndrome by the Ministry of Defence? Can
we take it forward regardless of that? You say that you want
treatment for the signs and symptoms of gulf war syndrome. Are
the two issues connected, or do we have to wait for the MOD to
recognise gulf war syndrome before treatment can be provided?
Alexander Izett: I would prefer the issue of gulf war syndrome to be dealt with
at the same time, but it is to the benefit of the veterans that
the signs and symptoms are treated. It is not just a matter of
the syndrome being recognised. The lives of many veterans living
in Scotland are a shambles and they are not getting the medical
treatment that they need.
Mike Watson: We should write to the Executive and ask it to respond to the
points that Mr Izett has made. Scottish servicemen and
servicewomen who served in the gulf war or who, like Mr Izett,
were inoculated in preparation for it, require treatment of some
kind. I am concerned about how they can get that treatment if
they do not have access to the records of what they were given.
The Scottish health service is separate from the UK national
health service. We have a right to consider the issue in the
terms that I have outlined and to say that there seems to be a
block on Scottish citizens being treated because they lack the
information that is necessary for treatment to be provided. We
should write to the Executive on the basis of what we have heard
this morning.
The Convener: Mike Watson has suggested a very good question to put to the
Executive.
Linda Fabiani: I agree completely with Mike Watson. We all have a responsibility
in this matter. We could also ask the Executive what records are
kept in Scotland of people who have served and of veterans who
are still living here. If we are to
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assist
them, we will require that basic information. Let us ask all the
questions that might enable something to happen sooner rather
than later.
The Convener: Do members agree that we should put those specific questions to
the Executive?
Members indicated agreement.
The Convener: Mr Izett, thank you for your evidence. We will let you know what
response we receive from the Executive.
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