§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information concerning rainfall levels in the United Kingdom on 2 and 3 May 1986 was passed between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Meteorological Office; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonMy Department was in close contact with the Meteorological Office in the initial stages following the Chernobyl accident when information on rainfall for the period including 2–3 May 1986 was used by us to help identify those areas most likely to be affected by significant radioactive deposition. Subsequently MAFF obtained information on actual deposition patterns from ground surveys of radioactive material deposited on vegetation commissioned from the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology and from its own monitoring. However, the Meteorological Office continued to provide information in relation to this period following further work up of data, at various times during 1986 and 1987.