Illnesses of Porton Down veterans not linked to experiments

There is no clinical evidence linking the ill health of army veterans with a chemical warfare programme they took part in at Porton Down in the 1950s, according to the results of a medical study published today.

Most of the 111 veterans had taken part in a research programme that involved exposure to single dose low concentrations of chemical warfare agents.

The former volunteers were referred to the Porton Down Volunteers Medical Assessment Programme (PDVMAP) at St Thomas' Hospital, London, between February 2001 and July 2003.

Professor Harry Lee, head of the PDVMAP, published his findings today, which concluded that there were no unusual patterns of disease among the volunteers medically assessed.

The report also said that illnesses observed within volunteers "are consistent with those you would expect to find in a pool of men from the general population of similar age".

Professor Lee said: "On a clinical basis, we could find nothing to support the idea that participation in the Porton Down Volunteer Programme had produced any adverse long-term health effects. Similarly, we were unable to find any unusual patterns of disease."

Ivor Caplin, Under Secretary of State for Defence, voiced his hope that the results would be reassuring to volunteers "who made such vital contributions to important research at Porton Down".

He added: "However, we also recognise that some volunteers may still have worries about their participation in the volunteer programme. We shall continue to work closely with those people and listen to their concerns."

All volunteers who took part in the assessment programme were independently referred by their GPs. Information obtained was analysed to determine whether clinical diagnoses and symptoms reported had any relationship to chemical exposures.

Although it was an MoD programme, the studies were conducted by physicians operating in total independence of the department. The MoD has stressed that it had no say in the structure of the programme or the results contained within Professor Lee's paper.

(gmcg)