From east to west…

Grace Cathedral in San Francisco is built in the style of Notre dame in Paris. Heaven knows why, for it is the cathedral of an American Episcopal Diocese and has as Anglican a feel as Salisbury. Sitting on the top of Nob Hill (famous for its cable cars and silver-screen car chases) it is an ideal place to chill out after a hard day pursuing the scientific response to terrorism.

The war with Iraq's vile regime is over, but the spread of terrorism continues. The world has changed and we must be prepared. Hence the enquiry by the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee, of which I am a member.

We have been briefed at Porton Down and taken evidence from dozens of scientists, academics and civil servants, from the emergency services and from commercial concerns. We share a common interest and purpose with the USA - and many of the staff at Porton are involved.

The response of the US to international terrorism has been as big as you would expect. They have established a whole new Government Department of Homeland Security. First a briefing from our Washington Embassy, then we started at the top - at The White House. On to the National Academy of Sciences and the Department of Health, then a session with the President's Under-Secretary for Homeland Security.

Fort Detrick is the US Army's answer to Porton Down. US-wide medical work is focussed on the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases. The Program Executive Office on Chemical and Biological Defence ensures tri-service co-ordination. After two days of this we were getting to the heart of the matter.

The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta briefed on detection and response, vaccination, research, agriculture, food supply safety and the management and delivery of advice to the public. Here we visited the sci-fi bunker, which is the USA's Emergency Control Center - literally windows on the world, currently tracking the spread of SARS. The contrast between this and the little bunker under Whitehall, which I visited occasionally as a Minister, is stark. Hmm!

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California is Porton Down plus Aldermarston, time ten! Its 8,000 scientists have £1 billion budget this year. I can say no more about it. But I'm mighty glad its there.

When we publish our Report later this year I do not doubt it will recommend changes to the way we do things in our country. There must be a single-minded approach to co-ordination in Government. There must be much more openness - you need to know more. You should also know that coast-to-coast, from the White House on, Porton Down is a by-word for excellence, at the heart of the defence of our freedoms.

Robert Key MP
19 May 2003