Children of British soldiers who fought in wars in which depleted uranium ammunition was used are at greater risk of suffering genetic diseases passed on by their fathers, new research reveals.
Veterans of the conflicts in the Gulf, Bosnia and Kosovo have been found to have up to 14 times the usual level of chromosome abnormalities in their genes. That has raised fears they will pass cancers and genetic illnesses to their offspring. The study is the first to analyse chromosome deformation in soldiers.
Paul Tyler MP, a member of the Royal British Legion Gulf War Syndrome working group, said it would be 'outrageous' if the findings were ignored by the Government.
'High levels of genetic damage do not occur naturally. It increases the probability of cancer, deformed babies and other genetic conditions significantly,' said Professor Albrecht Schott, a German biochemist who co-ordinated the research.
Schott collected blood samples from 16 British veterans last year. Fourteen had fought in the Gulf war, one of whom also served in Bosnia. Of the others, one served only in Kosovo and one only in Bosnia. Two of the veterans are women. The former soldiers have between double and 14 times the usual level of chromosome abnormalities. The average was five-and-a-half times higher than found in civilians. None had less than double the normal rate.
Ex-Warrant Officer Ray Bristow, who served in Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Gulf war, has previously been found to have hundreds of times higher than the safe limit of depleted uranium in his urine. The father of three from Hull, now a wheelchair user, suffers problems with his memory, respiratory system, liver, kidney, bowels and hearing. He recently had a large tumour removed from his hand.
Schott, who has a £30,000 debt after funding the tests himself, said that in the 18 months since they were done the condition of many veterans had worsened. Some were suffering from cancers.
'This confirms that we have been exposed to ionising radiation,' said Shaun Rusling, chairman of the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association. 'That is the only way we could have this level of chromosome damage.'
Last month the MoD said it was launching an investigation after a study revealed 19 Gulf veterans had developed lymphatic or bone marrow cancers compared with 11 in a control group.
A US government survey of 21,000 veterans has also shown that those who served in the Gulf were two to three times more likely to report birth defects in their children.
Depleted uranium is used in shells because its high density allows maximum penetration of hard targets such as tanks and underground bunkers. The US and Britain have admitted using 350 tonnes of depleted uranium in the Gulf war. Iraqi scientists have reported high levels of childhood cancers and deformed babies in populations exposed to the ammunition.
Some 53,000 British troops served in the Gulf. Of these, at least 552 have died and more than 5,200 have reported a range of illnesses.
Once in the body, depleted uranium can remain for years emitting small doses of alpha radiation. Former soldiers who were heavy smokers, or had undergone chemotherapy or X-ray treatment were excluded from the study as these factors could also lead to higher than normal levels of chromosome aberrations.
Kenny Duncan believes that his children's health problems are linked to his service in the Gulf war. All three were born with deformed toes and suffer from asthmas, hay fever and eczema.
His wife Mandy said: 'It's scandalous that while we are suffering with the consequences of what the Government has done, politicians are just thinking about money.'
A spokesman for the MoD dismissed Schott's findings. 'We consider the tests neither well thought out nor scientifically sound,' he said.