§ 1. Dr. David Kerrasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will now seek to arrange for scientists from his Department to study the use of chemical and biological warfare in Vietnam.
§ Dr. KerrCould my right hon. Friend say why not? There is a great deal of work going on at Porton. Would it not be important for him and, through his advisers, all of us, to understand the obscene nature of these experiments, which have more to do with the Nazi experiments in concentration camps than with, say, Marie Curie or Professor Fleming?
§ Mr. HealeyI am unclear as to what my hon. Friend meant by that extra-ordinary question. Was he referring to experiments at Porton, or the use of chemical or biological agents in Vietnam? If he is referring to the latter, then, so far as I know, no biological agents have been used by either side. The only chemical agents have been defoliants, and those used in riot control.
§ Sir C. OsborneWould not the hon. Member be serving the cause of peace better if he asked his friends in Vietnam to come to the peace table and talk sensibly to the Americans instead of making allegations like this against them?
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. That is wide of the original Question.