§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Department's legal costs have been in the case of Mr. Shaun Rusling; if he will make a 703W statement on the reasons advanced for appealing the findings of the Pension Appeals Tribunal; and what his policy is subsequent to the ruling of the High Court on 13 June. [123941]
§ Mr. CaplinI refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave on 20 June 2003,Official Report, column 514W, and on 23 June 2003, Official Report, column 687. The Pensions Appeal Tribunal decision on the case of Mr. Rusling found that the Ministry of Defence had failed to show beyond reasonable doubt that disablement due to "Gulf War Syndrome" was not attributable to his Service in the armed forces. We appealed this decision because the overwhelming consensus of medical and scientific opinion is that the symptoms reported by some Gulf veterans do not constitute a discrete disorder. It is too early to say what the cost of contesting the case has been.