To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list each episode where (a) chemical particles and (b) live organisms were released by his Department, its predecessors or those acting on their behalf over parts of the UK over the last 30 years. (106532)

An unclassified report summarising the BW Defence Field Trials conducted by the MOD between 1940 and 1979 was published in February 1999. A copy is available in the Library of the House, reference DERA/CBD/CR990038. Many of the reports of the individual trials are now also available in the National Archive. By the late 1970’s the programme was drawing to a close with a small number of trials involving Bacillus globigi, E.coli and killed Serratia Marcesens on restricted access MOD sites. In 1976, 77 and 78 these trials were undertaken on the range at Porton Down (no dates are given in the relevant technical reports). Also in 1976, trials were conducted at HMS Phoenix NBCD school Portsmouth on 5, 7, 9, 12, 14 and 15 May.

In subsequent years, some small scale trials involving chemicals or micro-organisms have taken place on MOD land, but the information requested is not collated centrally and there is no indication that the details required have been retained within the MOD. A review of the information held within MOD and the compilation of any information located would involve disproportionate cost.