§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his letter of 19 March, Ref. D/Min/(AF)JS/0906/00/P, what conclusions he has drawn from his scrutiny of the report of the Congressional Committee on National Security which reviewed the US Department of Defense's policy on the use of US-licensed anthrax vaccine and the way in which that policy had been implemented. [117973]
§ Mr. SpellarWe have studied the Committee's report and a response by the US Department of Defense refuting the Committee's findings. These concerned both the safety and efficacy of the US anthrax vaccine and the scope of the US Department of Defense's mandatory immunisation programme. The anthrax vaccine produced in the UK differs from the US product and is administered in a different way. Independent advice in both the UK and the US has confirmed that vaccination against anthrax is safe and effective. Against this background, it remains our policy that vaccination against anthrax has an important part to play as one of a range of measures to provide protection against biological weapons for our armed forces.