§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what evidence he has for his statement in the Defence Estimates that the legitimate spread of biotechnology for scientific and economic purposes has carried with it the potential for the diversion of equipment and expertise into offensive biological warfare programmes.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonAdvances in biotechnology have facilitated the large-scale production of toxic materials, some for legitimate civil uses, which had hitherto been available only in minute quantities from natural sources. The equipment and expertise, together with a number of936W these materials, have the potential for diversion into military programmes; however, it would not be in the public interest for me to give further details. Our research into biological and toxic agents is entirely defensive, being aimed at the protection of our armed forces from any biological warfare threat, and is permitted under the 1972 biological and toxic warfare convention.