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Scallywag Dorset is a place for individuals, businesses and organisations in South Dorset (Weymouth, Dorchester, Bridport etc.)to share opinion and gossip that would otherwise go unreported or shared. Its the place to have your say!
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3 comments:
The fact that the MOD refuse to rule out using Dorset to conduct even more germ warfare tests in the future is very disturbing. Some of you may be already be aware that, during the Cold War, scientists from the UK's germ warfare research facility at Porton Down used the UK (and South Dorset in particular) as a giant outdoor laboratory. During 1997, the first evidence emerged of Porton Down's germ warfare 'activities' in populated areas. Over the following 11 years, the slow release of declassified Government documents have revealed that Porton Down scientists repeatedly sprayed populated areas, with a variety of different types of Biological Warfare simulants (either live bacteria such as E.coli MRE162, Bacillus subtilis, etc. or hazardous chemicals such as Zinc Cadmium sulphide).
Do check out the following two groundbreaking ITV documentaries, which broadcast information about newly discovered Porton Down public area experiments.
Entitled 'Top Secrets Revealed', the two 23 minute episodes were broadcast during late 2004. They are both available for viewing/download on GoogleVideo.
Episode 1 covers the years 1950-1963, and includes details of formerly classified public area BW experiments, such as the those conducted during the 1960s over populated areas of South Dorset - now known as the Lyme Bay Trials.
This infamous series of experiments involved the spraying, by a ship, of massive amounts of two types of live bacteria. E.coli MRE162 (isolated from a Porton toilet seat in 1949) and spores of Bacillus subtilis aka Bacillus globigii or BG). The huge bacterial clouds were carried onshore by the wind, and were sampled up to 50 miles inland by mobile teams of Porton scientists. The Lyme Bay experiments were repeatedly conducted between 1963-1975. Between 1963-1968, 38 separate massive-release BW experiments were conducted in Lyme Bay and the surrounding area. During the period 1963-1975, the number of Dorset based experiments totaled over 80 experiments!
Top Secrets Revealed Episode 1
23 min 61 MB
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=7956939398441775712
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Episode 2 covers the years 1964 onwards and includes details of the Icing Tanker Aircraft experiments. This aircraft was a classic piece of dual-use technology. On the surface this especially converted aircraft was just a research vehicle, constructed to facilitate investigations into aircraft icing. But it had another clandestine, and highly classified, role - as the UK's Biological Warfare research spray aircraft. Experiments using this aircraft were conducted in populated areas of Dorset on numerous occasions during 1967. As before, two types of live bacteria were released - E.coli MRE162, and Bacillus subtilis.
Episode 2 also includes a groundbreaking interview with Professor Brian Spratt FRS. Prof Spratt was commissioned, in 1998, by the UK Ministry of Defence to investigate whether those residents who were exposed to the massive bacterial clouds suffered any adverse health effects. Prof Spratt reveals that while most people would probably have not suffered ill effects, some people, especially those with an underlying disease or suppressed immune system might have experienced pneumonia or sepsis. He also revealed that on four separate occasions, Porton scientists knowingly sprayed a contaminated bacterial suspension over a populated area!
As is this were not enough, during the interview Professor Spratt became aware that the MOD hade not been as honest with him as he had thought. They had 'forgotten' to inform him of the six 'massive' crosswind line releases of live bacteria, which were conducted in 1968. Even worse, declassified documents revealed that these experiments were not conducted for any research purposes - they were instead carried out purely to show off Porton's dubious abilities to the UK Military!
Episode 2 also reveals that during November 1971, Lyme Bay and the surrounding countryside (the main target being the Isle of Portland) again became the host for Porton's BW experiments, but this time there was a difference - Porton had invited two guests to participate in the tests; the US Army and the US Navy! As before, these experiments were highly classified, but in case the general public had discovered their existence, the MOD had prepared a Press Release which stated that no live bacteria were released. The declassification of the official trials report proved this statement to have been untrue - the report states that, on a number of occasions, massive amounts of live bacteria (Bacillus subtilis) were released.
In 1975, joint UK/US BW Detection Trials (DICE Trials) were again conducted in South Dorset. Little is known about this series of BW detection experiments, which were conducted in the Lyme Bay/Weymouth Bay area. It is known that Porton scientists, in collaboration with US military scientists, conducted 24 separate massive crosswind line releases of bacteria (Inactivated Serratia marcescens - ISM, and live Bacillus subtilis). Once again, the target for each of these experiments was the Isle of Portland.
Yet again, as the interview shows, the Ministry of Defence appear to have 'forgotten' to inform Professor Spratt about the existence of a series of live bacterial releases in populated areas!
Top Secrets Revealed Episode 2
23 min 61 MB
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-1663566962509610222
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Do watch them both. They are of great interest for those of us who lived in the affected areas at the time!
WHO IS TO BLAME
We all tut and moan how government originations take advantage of the public, yet I for one do not blame them, I blame us. We allow them to get away with it, we become aware of a problem but just choose to sit and moan in our little groups, while taking no action. What could be a better example of my view then this, the MOD refusing to conduct germ warfare on the general public of Dorset. Do we see rioting in the streets, NO, do we see a hail of correspondence to government, NO. We are a nation of moaners, who deserve to be taken advantage of, because we do not stand up for our self’s, and they know it.
To be fair, when the existance of Porton Down's past Dorset based germ warfare experiments became known, the local population did raise a storm of protest. This in turn forced the MOD to try and placate the locals by adopting a number of actions: holding three 'roadshows' - one each at Dorchester, Weymouth, and Bridport; the early release of some of the scientific reports to the reference libraries at Dorchester, Weymouth, Bridport and Wareham; and the commisioning of two separate Independent Reviews.
Unfortunately, by the time that the MOD Minister for Procurement - Lord Gilbert - made his statement (in a letter to the MP Matthew Taylor) that the MOD would not rule out conducting future larger scale germ warfare experiments in populated areas, local media interest had waned. Therefore Dorset residents remained unaware of the possibilty that Porton Down scientists might once again spray South Dorset with massive aerosols of live bacteria.
The MOD's policy was confirmed in answer to a Code of Practice on Access to Government Information request made by a local Dorset resident in 1999.
This confirmation (along with a copy of Lord Gilbert's original letter) was shown to the Dorset Echo... who chose to ignore it!
The Code of Practice reply can be found at: http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n268/gravegigger/UKFieldTrialspolicy.jpg
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