Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to enhance the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence capability of the UK in the light of the ongoing enquiries into recent events in Salisbury and the possibility of further similar events within the UK.

We are already evolving Defence capability to respond to the range of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats. For example, as the Secretary of State for Defence recently announced, we are building on our world class expertise at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in Porton Down by investing £48 million in a new Chemical Weapons Defence Centre to maintain our cutting edge in chemical analysis and defence. The Ministry of Defence will re-evaluate its overall CBRN capability as part of its Modernising Defence Programme.