After nearly a decade of legal battles, UK military veterans who suffered devastating side effects from the anti-malarial drug Lariam have finally secured justice, but they’ve been forced into silence.
A major out-of-court settlement has been reached between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the claimants, announced today by Hilary Meredith Solicitors. The case, which has dragged on for nine gruelling years, centred on the MoD’s controversial prescription of Lariam (mefloquine), a drug linked to severe psychiatric side effects including anxiety, hallucinations, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
Despite the victory, the MoD has insisted on a gagging clause preventing veterans from sharing the details of their cases, a move critics say speaks volumes.
“This case could have been settled within five years,” said Hilary Meredith-Beckham, chair of Hilary Meredith Solicitors. “Instead, the MoD avoided, delayed, and denied, causing even more suffering to those already harmed. Our clients were brave enough to serve their country, they shouldn’t have had to fight for justice.”
Between 2007 and 2015, at least 17,368 service personnel were prescribed Lariam, according to MoD figures. But internal investigations revealed that only 5-10% of those cases were properly recorded in medical files, leaving medics unaware that psychiatric symptoms could be drug-induced.
Originally developed within clandestine US military research programmes and licensed in 1989, Lariam was adopted by the UK military in 1991. Even back in 2007, the chairman of Roche, the drug’s manufacturer, publicly acknowledged better alternatives were available. Despite that, the MoD continued to administer Lariam to troops deploying to high-risk regions, often without proper guidance or monitoring.
In 2016, a House of Commons Defence Select Committee report condemned the MoD’s use of the drug, stating it should only be prescribed in exceptional circumstances and criticising its “lamentable failure” in Duty of Care.
The case has drawn comparisons to the Post Office Horizon scandal and other high-profile legal injustices, with calls now growing for a renewed inquiry into the MoD’s handling of the Lariam issue.
Meredith-Beckham also questioned the role of former Armed Forces Minister Lord Nicholas Soames, who briefly served as a director of Roche in the early 1990s. “Why did he remain silent while soldiers under his watch were being issued a drug with known psychotic side effects?” she asked.
A Freedom of Information request revealed the MoD spends £20 million annually defending legal claims from soldiers and veterans, money that, campaigners argue, should be going directly to those harmed.
“The MoD is treating our soldiers like the enemy,” said Meredith-Beckham. “They’re defending claims they should be settling, dragging injured veterans through the mud, and wasting public money in the process.”
While the settlement has brought some closure, many questions remain unanswered, and many believe this case was buried rather than resolved.
“We still don’t know the full truth,” said Meredith-Beckham. “The MoD didn’t want this case in open court. Their insistence on a gagging clause says it all. Powerful people made powerful mistakes, and now they’re doing everything they can to hide them.”
Calls are now being made for the Government and Defence Select Committee to revisit the Lariam scandal, not only to uncover what happened, but to ensure nothing like this is allowed to happen again.
Veterans deserve accountability. They deserve answers. And they deserve to be heard, not silenced.
