The focus of controversy surrounding Porton Down has shifted from the experiments themselves to the issue of consent.

In November, an inquest into a young airman who died in 1953, found he had been unlawfully killed.
Leading Aircraftman Ronald Maddison was 20 when he died, after being exposed to 200 milligrammes of sarin, which was dropped onto a piece of uniform material wrapped around his arm.  An inquest held in secret at the time of his death, “for reasons of national security”, concluded that it was caused by misadventure, but this was quashed by the High Court in 2002.

His family claim that he was tricked into taking part in the tests, after being told that he was helping to find a cure for the common cold. They, along with Porton Down veterans, are now seeking a public inquiry, but the Ministry of Defence has ruled out such a move.

If Porton Down did not exist, it would need to be invented – and quickly. In the fevered minds of many journalists, the place is shadowy, mysterious; home to the dark arts. To most local people, the reality is very different. We are proud of it. The UK would be a more dangerous place to live without it and HM Forces would be at greater risk globally.

Chemical weapons were first deployed against British troops in 1915. The carnage was appalling. In 1916 work started at Porton Down and by 1918 anti-gas defence and respirator development, as well as work on the dissemination of chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas was established. By 1991, the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE) had emerged, still within the Ministry of Defence. Next door, the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research (which was split off in 1979) has become part of the Health Protection Agency under the Department of Health. CBDE has evolved into the Defence Scientific and Technology Laboratories (DSTL), an agency of the MoD.

By 1956 Britain had abandoned the pursuit of chemical or biological warfare capability and restricted work to hazard assessment and defence. Work continues on developing prophylaxis, therapy, rapid detection and identification, decontamination and protection of the body against nerve agents which attack through the eyes, skin and respiratory tract.

The science at the two Porton Down establishments is world-class. Following 9/11, the science and technology select committee undertook an inquiry into the scientific response to terrorism. We took evidence in the White House, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and Laurence Livermore Labs in California. Everywhere we went, Porton Down was praised for the quality of its science and the expertise of its staff. Most of the research is published and peer reviewed. Links with academia and industry are increasingly important. Spin-off applications are growing, such as the fabric coatings developed to protect HM Forces. They are now are used in aerospace, healthcare, sportswear, overalls, consumer and electronic goods, as well as by the military.

None of this would have been possible without the help of volunteers from very early days. As our knowledge has increased, risks have been identified and protocols developed to protect volunteers and staff alike. Working practices have changed. For many years no studies involving service volunteers have been conducted without the approval of the independent ethics committee, in line with the 1964 Helsinki declaration on the ethics of human experimentation. That committee has just two MoD members and nine representatives from the medical, legal and academic professions, plus lay people.

Porton scientists are at the cutting edge of blue-skies research, as well as industrial innovation and clinical application. Their first duty is to HM Forces, but long before 9/11, they were Britain’s front-line response to homeland defence too. When emergency service exercises take place, Porton-trained police, fire crews and ambulance staff are first on the scene, followed swiftly by scientific response teams from Porton Down.

In order to understand how to protect the human body against the havoc wreaked by chemical and biological agents, we have to understand what it is that these agents disrupt – and how nerves work. So it is not surprising that Porton scientists are also at the forefront of research into Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other such diseases.

Partly because of blanket secrecy in bygone ages, there has always been confusion about four local institutions. The oldest chestnut concerns Harvard Hospital – Britain’s Common Cold Research Unit It is here where thousands of volunteers, mostly civilian, contributed to our knowledge of virology. It closed in the 1980s, having failed to cure our colds, but not before it had made a major, if unexpected, contribution to treatment for HIV/Aids. Porton Down itself never undertook any work on the common cold.

In addition to DSTL Porton and HPA Porton, there’s the Army Camp at Winterbourne Gunner, at the western end of the Porton ranges. Generations of  HM Forces from all three services have been trained there in nuclear, biological and chemical defence. The Defence NBC Centre has now been joined by the Police National Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Centre. Thousands of police, ambulance and fire personnel from every force in the UK are now fully trained first responders in their communities.
When the MoD lost their Biology Department back in 1979, they gained a world-class civilian partner in virology and vaccines which is now part of the Health Protection Agency.

At the heart of this web of security are many thousands of highly-motivated scientists and support staff who are part of our community in South Wiltshire. This is not some secret, behind-the-wire, white-coated colony of aliens. These are real families who shop with us at Tescos, sing in our choirs, join in our sport and leisure activities and who have brought to our local schools a high profile for science education.

There’s something else Porton Down has given us: one of the best-protected and biologically diverse chalk landscapes in Britain. The 7,000 acre estate is justly famous for its juniper stands and ant colonies. There’s more to Porton Down than meets the eye.