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TWO
young soldiers have
killed themselves
after falling ill
with suspected Gulf
War Syndrome
following the latest
conflict in Iraq.
Both
men committed
suicide after
showing recognised
symptoms of the
illness - blamed on
controversial jabs
our troops were
given before the
war.
One -
Royal Engineer Eddie
Hosdell, 21 - leapt
to his death from
the Humber Bridge in
Hull and a
26-year-old soldier
hanged himself at a
base in Germany.
The
German-based soldier
was given five jabs
in one day - in
direct contradiction
of Defence Secretary
Geoff Hoon's pre-war
pledge that troops
would not have
multiple
vaccinations at the
same time.
The
suicides are the
first linked to Gulf
War Syndrome after
the latest conflict.
Campaigners say
almost 200 soldiers
who saw service in
the 1991 Gulf War
have killed
themselves after
developing the
illness, which has
always been
officially denied by
the Government.
Charlie
Plumridge, spokesman
for the National
Gulf Veterans and
Families Association
(NGVFA), said: "It's
a shocking and sad
state of affairs
that these young
soldiers are taking
their own lives. For
12 years we have
been warning the MOD
that this sort of
thing has happened
and would continue
to happen.
"Tragically these
two deaths show we
were right. This
could only be the
tip of the iceberg.
"I call
upon the Government
to do more to look
after brave young
men and women who
have been willing to
lay down their lives
for this country."
Both
soldiers are
believed to have
been given multiple
vaccinations before
war broke out to
protect them from
chemical or
biological attack.
The
Sunday Mirror has
seen medical records
showing the
26-year-old soldier
- not named at the
request of his
family - received
five inoculations,
including the
controversial
anthrax jab, on the
same day.
Experts
attribute the
illness to the
cocktail of jabs and
tablets given to
troops, and the use
of depleted uranium
in allied weapons.
Defence
Secretary Geoff Hoon
told MPs in January:
"A key lesson
learned about
inoculations is that
it is not sensible
to inflict on our
forces a large
number
simultaneously."
Eddie,
whose funeral took
place in Hull this
week, returned from
the war at the end
of April with 39
Engineer Regiment,
based at Waterbeach
Barracks in
Cambridgeshire.
Within
days he started to
behave erratically.
The
soldier, never in
trouble before, was
arrested by police
on suspicion of
firing a
ball-bearing out of
a car window near
his home in Hornsea,
North Humberside. He
was released on bail
and sent text
messages to friends
saying he was going
to take his own
life.
His
body was found on
the Humber river on
May 18.
Last
night Eddie's
parents, Jacqueline
and Tuke, were too
upset to comment.
An
inquest in to
Eddie's death was
opened and adjourned
on May 23, with the
full hearing in six
months.
The
parents of the
soldier found dead
in Germany have also
demanded a full
inquest. The member
of the Queen's Royal
Hussars hanged
himself at his Army
base in Sennelager,
Germany, days after
falling ill.
He had
been unfit to
travel, with a rash,
sleeping problems
and mood swings.
This
week his parents,
from the Birmingham
area, contacted the
NGVFA's helpline.
An Army
source said: "He was
planning to get
married so his
suicide is
especially tragic."
Gulf
War Syndrome expert
Professor Malcolm
Hooper, a member of
the MOD's
independent Vaccine
Panel, said: "The
soldiers are hung
out to dry, where
instead they should
be offered help when
they come back from
a horrific war
distressed and
unwell."
An MOD
spokesman said
yesterday: "We
recognise people are
ill but we do not
recognise a single
syndrome.
"We
will not comment on
individual cases."
THE
NGVFA 24-hour
helpline number is
01482 833812 |