§ Dr. GibsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the threat from the use of genetically modified organisms for biological warfare purposes. [8623]
§ Mr. HoonWe continuously monitor all threats to the UK and our armed forces. We judge there is currently no specific threat from biological warfare using genetically modified organisms. We are, of course, aware that biological warfare agents can be modified by methods such as genetic manipulation; such factors are taken into account in formulating our approach to biological defence.