IT is hard to imagine how the Ministry of Defence came to sell off tents and sleeping bags, which may have been contaminated with dangerous pesticides, to Scout and Guide troops.

The equipment had been used in the Gulf War and although most tents and sleeping bags were burned in the desert when hostilities ceased, some were brought back. A few years later they were sold off as surplus.

Now the MoD has admitted the sale, but it has no idea which organisations bought them.

That sounds like slipshod tactics.

Surely any equipment brought back from a war zone should be rigorously tested before being used again, let alone sold on to youth organisations.

The alarm bells have been ringing ever since the Army returned from Operation Desert Storm.

Gulf war syndrome is alleged to have seriously damaged the health of Gulf veterans here and in the USA.

Many scientists believe that it was brought on by exposure to organophosphates.

So, how on earth could the MoD even consider selling equipment which was exposed to organophosphates?

Somebody deserves a rocket.

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