Hoon could give evidence to Gulf war illness inquiry

[Khephra]

Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, and John Reid, the health secretary, are considering whether their departments should give evidence to an independent inquiry into illnesses suffered by veterans of the first Gulf war.

Lord Lloyd of Berwick, who is heading the inquiry, has invited government representatives to hearings in London this month, and said it was "essential" that they appear.

The cabinet ministers will have to weigh up the political consequences of refusing to cooperate with an investigation that has been set up only because the government has refused repeated calls to hold a public inquiry. But their participation would raise fresh questions about why the government did not sanction an inquiry earlier.

Although it has not ruled out the possibility, the government has maintained that more research is needed into possible causes of illnesses suffered by veterans since the early 1990s.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12956,1255648,00.html