§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What were the results of the use of depleted uranium bullets in the Gulf War. [HL1309]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Gilbert)The small arms bullets used by UK forces during the Gulf conflict did not contain depleted uranium (DU) and, as far as the Ministry of Defence is aware, neither did the bullets used by any of our Coalition partners.
Some Royal Navy ships were equipped with 20mm ammunition containing DU for the Phalanx close-in weapon system, which was not used during the Gulf conflict except for some rounds fired for proving purposes. The British Army's Challenger tanks were equipped with CHARM 1 120mm armour-piercing rounds which had a DU core, and the MoD's current assessment is that fewer than 100 such rounds were fired during the land campaign in which 1 (UK) Armoured Division successfully engaged and destroyed a number of Iraqi formations.
Various units of the US forces which participated in the Gulf conflict were also equipped with ammunition containing DU. The results of the use of that ammunition are a matter for the US Government.