The British government has refused to release the full report into the failings of the Beagle 2 project.

Science minister Lord Sainsbury argued that the investigation was an internal inquiry and therefore not public.

"I don't think this adds very much to any public discussion," he said.

However, a summary of the findings published yesterday revealed that "institutional failings" were thought to have led to poor management, restrictive budgets and too little time, leading to insufficient testing.

The Beagle 2 probe was due to land on Mars on Christmas Day, but failed to make contact.