The Ministry of Defence has lost an appeal against a soldier's claim that he is suffering from Gulf War syndrome.

Judges ruled on Friday that former Parachute Regiment medical officer Shaun Rusling was a victim of an identifiable syndrome attributable to his service in the 1991 war against Iraq.

The High Court decision could open the way for other veterans to seek compensation from the government, which denies that the disease exists.

Last year a war pensions tribunal concluded that the syndrome does exist as a medical condition.

MoD lawyers challenged that decision, questioning the medical evidence to support it.

But the tribunal verdict was upheld by the High Court, although judges stopped short of confirming the condition as a medical illness.

In a statement after the verdict, the department pointed out that the judgment did not prove definitively that Gulf War syndrome exists.

"The judge expresses no opinion on whether 'Gulf War syndrome exists'," it said.

"We accept that some Gulf veterans have become ill and that many veterans believe this ill-health is related to their Gulf experience.

"There is no medical or scientific consensus about the causes of this ill-health, and we remain open-minded about the various causes that have been suggested.

"The overwhelming consensus of medical and scientific opinion is that the symptoms reported by some Gulf veterans do not constitute a discrete medical disorder or syndrome. The MoD's position must always be based on the best available science."