Chemical and Biological Weapons (Hansard, 26 January 1999)

§ Mr. Key
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his review of actions necessary to ensure a coherent UK response to threats from biological and chemical weapons. [67697]

§ Mr. George Robertson
This is an important area of work. I will publish the outcome of the review as soon as possible.
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§ Mr. Key
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the formal programme of co-operation he has agreed with the United States on the threat to armed forces from chemical and biological weapons. [67694]

§ Mr. George Robertson
A US/UK Joint Venture Oversight Group on the defence response to the threat posed by chemical and biological weapons has been established. The first meeting took place in Washington on 14 December 1998 and agreed the basis on which work would be carried forward in the areas of policy, operational assessment and technical co-operation. We will build on this exchange as a means of developing further the already strong defence capabilities of both countries.
We also continue to value highly our long-standing collaborative arrangements with the US through the trilateral (UK/US/Canada) Memorandum of understanding (MOU) and the quadripartite (UK/US/Canada/Australia) arrangements represented by the Technical Collaboration Programme (TTCP) on chemical and biological defence.