THE GOVERNMENT was today setting up a major inquiry into whether Gulf War Syndrome exists.

There are two local men who claim to have been suffering from the syndrome.

In a written Parliamentary answer, Defence Secretary Michael Portillo finally bowed to pressure and launched an investigation.

Ministers have denied claims that veterans of the war with Iraq in 1991 have suffered serious illnesses as a result of taking a cocktail of vaccinations and tablets to protect them against chemical and biological warfare.

They have also denied that children have been born with deformities as a result of their parent's service in the Gulf. Darren Naylor, from Westhoughton, served in the Gulf. His Royal Fusilier unit was mistakenly attacked by American fighter planes. He was 20-years-old at the time.

He has suffered migraines, muscular pains, aching joints, cracking bones and depression since returning from the Gulf. He believes his problems were caused by the Nerve Agent Pre-Treatment Set tablets he took.

Andrew Honer from Little Hulton claims to have suffered from exposure to nerve gas after a biological and chemical warfare plant exploded near his base.

When he came home he suffered mood-swings, depression, insecurity, severe headaches, blurred vision and sleeplessness. Today Mr Portillo announced that there would be a study of all 55,000 Gulf War veterans' medical history.

And these will be compared with the medical histories of a similar number of servicemen not deployed in the Gulf.

The study will be carried out by the Defence Analytical Services Agency which will use computer systems in London and Bath to assemble medical information on the servicemen and compare the Gulf War veterans' health records with the control group of the servicemen who did not go to Kuwait and Iraq.

The inquiry announced today means Britain has finally caught up with the United States where a major investigation is already underway. And it follows a damning report from the House of Commons Defence Select Committee when MPs said they were appalled at the MoD's failure to carry out a detailed inquiry.

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