§ Lord Brockwayasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will establish a public inquiry into the sale of drugs by British firms to third world countries in view of the allegations by Mr. David Warburton, president of the pharmaceutical division of the International Federation of Chemical Energy and General Workers Unions, that drugs are supplied at exorbitant prices without proper medical supervision, often causing deformity and death.
§ Lord EltonThe Government are not aware of the evidence on which Mr. Warburton's allegations are based. We believe that the only effective and appropriate method of controlling the safety and efficacy of medicines in the less developed countries is for them to devise their own procedures for control, assisted as necessary by the World Health Organisation. Each country has its own problems and needs in relation to the suitability of medicines which the United Kingdom is not necessarily well placed to judge. In these circumstances we do not consider that a public inquiry would be appropriate.