Alleged Chemical Warfare Incident, Al Jubayl, 19 January 1991 (Hansard, 24 January 2000)

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

The 1997 "A New Beginning" policy statement set out a number of commitments to help address the health concerns of Gulf veterans. One of these commitments was to review specific incidents of suggested biological or chemical warfare exposures. As part of this commitment, my honourable friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces has today published a paper entitledA Review of the Suggested Exposure of UK Forces to Chemical Warfare Agents in Al Jubayl on 19 January 1991. A copy will be placed in the Library.

As a result of our review of the available information, we assess that UK troops were not subject to attack or exposed to chemical warfare agents at Al Jubayl on 19 January 1991. Although it is not possible to give a single comprehensive explanation for all the events that took place on the morning of 19 January we conclude from the available information that the indications of the presence of chemical warfare agents were false alarms.