On the subject of the effects of depleted uranium on Scottish armed forces personnel and their families.  Also pasted below / attached are relevant supporting documents, a picture of Dr Wilson "above", and Ms Robison’s letter, Please find below a copy of a letter sent by Dr Bill Wilson MSP to Ms Shona Robison MSP, Scottish Minister for Public Health to which the letter below is a response.

Ms Shona Robison MSP, Minister for Public Health

The Scottish Government

St. Andrew’s House
Regent Road
Edinburgh EH1 3DG

Dear Shona

The health of Scottish service personnel exposed to depleted uranium

Thank you for your letter of 22 December, which I attach for your ease of reference.  I am appalled by what appears to be the wilful ignorance of the representative of the Ministry of Defence/Depleted Uranium Oversight Board who responded to your request on my behalf with regard to the potential impact of depleted uranium (DU) on service personnel.

I say “wilful ignorance” advisedly, in view, in particular, of:

(1) The coroner’s report into the death of serviceman Stuart Dyson, dated 10 September 2009, a death explicitly attributed to cancer caused by exposure to DU.  In response to this the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association called for the NHS to set up a proper medical protocol to closely monitor Gulf War veterans’ health in order to detect and treat early stages of cancer.

(2) The extensive evidence of the effects of DU put into the public domain by Dr Doug Rokke, former Director of the US Army’s Depleted Uranium Project and a DU casualty.  I attach a copy of the report submitted by him to Archbishop Silvano Tomasi.

(3) The UK Depleted Uranium Information Card (F Med 1018), passed on by Dr Rokke, which proves that the Ministry of Defence is aware DU is a health hazard.  I also attach a copy of this.

(4) To the above must be added the considerable and growing body of circumstantial evidence pertaining to birth deformities, stillbirths and abortions in the vicinity of Fallujah, a place where large quantities of DU weapons were deployed, of which the Ministry of Defence cannot credibly plead ignorance.

In light of the above, I believe that the health of service personnel (and civilians within war zones) is being put at risk by DU weapons.

I urge you to request NHS Scotland to investigate the health of all Scottish service personnel who have served in theatres of war where DU weaponry has been deployed, as well as the health of their children.  It is the very least they deserve, and it would also be in the wider interests of the civilians who continue to be exposed to the legacy of the use of DU weaponry for this to be properly investigated.

There is both a humanitarian principle here and a legal one. We must demonstrate that Scotland is willing to stand by its service personnel and also make clear to the world that the Scottish Government will not be associated with crimes against humanity as defined by the Hague and Geneva Conventions.

Aefauldlie

Dr Bill Wilson MSP

cc The Right Honourable Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for Defence
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The Health and Environmental Effects of Uranium Munitions- Report for Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Apostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations Office and other International Observations.

Prepared by:

Doug Rokke; Ph.D.; Major, retired/disabled; U.S. Army

former Director, U.S. Army Depleted Uranium project

December 13 , 2008

2737 CR 1200 E

Rantoul, Illinois 61866

United States of America

217 643 6205

  هذا البريد محمى من المتطفلين. تحتاج إلى تشغيل الجافا سكريبت لمشاهدته.

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Related recent press releases may be found here:   http://www.billwilsonmsp.com/index.php?option=com_search&Itemid=5&searchword=depleted+uranium&submit=Search&searchphrase=exact&ordering=newest