§ Sir Teddy TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the implications of the chemical tests carried out by Her Majesty's Government on West Indian islands; and for what reasons the appropriate papers were not made available under the 30-year rule. [11769]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotMy Department's records indicate that trials using live biological agents took place at sea off the Leeward islands in late 1948 and early 1949 to determine the practicability of conducting biological warfare trials at sea. The authorities in Antigua were consulted at the planning stages and the agreement of the governor was obtained before the trials took place. We are confident that the trials did not result in any infections among the human or animal populations of Antigua. The nature and purpose of the trials was not made public at the time, given the security considerations applying in the cold war era; however, the fact that the trials involved the release of live biological agents has been in the public domain since 1982.
The United Kingdom has not possessed an offensive biological weapons capability since shortly after the second world war, and, indeed, is a co-depositary of the 1972 biological and toxin weapons convention, playing an active role in the current efforts to strengthen the convention.
Official records are released in accordance with the terms of the Public Records Act 1958. Certain papers concerning the subject in question were retained in my Department under section 3(S)4 of the Act on grounds of 692W national security. Such papers are subject periodically to re-review and the majority of papers on this subject have now been released, their sensitivity having lapsed.