The Government was facing growing criticism over claims that four soldiers who received multiple vaccinations before the Iraq war could be suffering from a potential "Gulf War II Syndrome".

Iranian media has reported that a large-scale military exercise in the Persian Gulf could be taking place this weekend.

Chartered by the British government during the critical months of the Falklands War in 1982, and later purchased for £25m in 1983, this ship has been at the forefront of naval logistics and repair.

During the Gulf War, for instance, an A-10 Warthog killed nine British soldiers when the ground-attack aircraft opened fire on their armored personnel carriers, mistaking them for Iraqi vehicles.