§ 61. Mrs. Castleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether, in view of the recent revelations about the 217W development of thalidomide, he will now institute a public inquiry into the development of the drug thalidomide in order to establish whether further measures to control drug safety are required in the interests of the public.
§ Mr. EnnalsIt is nearly 20 years since thalidomide was first marketed. Since then there have been such major developments both in scientific knowledge and in our methods for controlling medicines that it is unlikely that any inquiry into events connected with the marketing of thalidomide would be productive in revealing further measures that could be introduced to improve the safety of medicines.