Gulf War syndrome exists

The British Government conceded use of the term "Gulf War syndrome" for the first time to describe the illnesses suffered by about 6000 British veterans of the 1991 conflict.

The Government has refused to acknowledge the term, but a lawyer representing Defence Secretary John Reid accepted a "loose" definition at a tribunal into the test case of a Gulf War veteran.

"If the tribunal takes the view that we are not talking about a medical term but about broad terms lay people can understand ... it will be futile to pretend that people do not use that label," Steven Kovats said.

The term includes illnesses including cancers, motor neurone disease, chronic fatigue, skin rashes, traumatic stress and aching joints.