Gulf veterans 'made to feel like enemy'

Veterans were left feeling like the enemy when they complained of a range of debilitating illnesses following the first Gulf war, an inquiry heard today.

Flight Lieutenant John Nichol, an RAF Tornado navigator in the 1991 conflict captured by the Iraqis, was giving evidence as the independent inquiry started hearing evidence in London.

Support groups claim about 6,000 veterans have suffered unexplained ill-health and more than 600 are have died.

Flt-Lt Nichol, president of the Royal British Legion's Gulf veterans branch, said troops were given a cocktail of vaccines and possibly exposed to Iraqi nerve agents. They deserved better treatment on their return home.

"The men and the women you will hear from are not the enemy - but over the past few years that is exactly how they've been made to feel," he said.