Britain's secret laboratory - an important link in the case of the former Russian spy

A plaque outside the UK's Porton Down laboratory Photo: Getty

Born in war

The headquarters of the UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) at Porton Down, or Porton Down Laboratory, is located on a spacious campus. For anyone who wants to approach this area, warning signs and red flags are a sign that this is a sensitive military base. With a budget of more than 700 million USD/year and a team of scientists up to 3,000 people, Porton Down is the most controversial secret research facility in the UK.

Situated on 10 square miles of rural England, Porton Down was built over 100 years ago to defend against German gas attacks during World War I. The first gas attack on British soldiers involved chlorine. Thousands of British soldiers had no idea what they were dealing with. They suffered chemical burns or died in agony. After chlorine, British soldiers faced other toxic gases.

General Kitchener, then British Secretary of War, ordered an immediate response. This led to the creation of Porton Down. Scientists at Porton Down quickly developed gas masks and conducted experiments to carry out similar gas attacks on German soldiers. The attacks killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians. This is one of the reasons why World War I is sometimes called “chemical warfare.”

Unusual call

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his son. Photo: BBC

In the early morning of March 5, an emergency call was made to Porton Down. DSTL is often contacted in the event of major incidents in the UK, such as terrorist attacks. However, this call was not about terrorism, but about an incident on a road in the city of Salisbury, a few miles from Porton Down.

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench outside a shopping centre in Salisbury on 4 March and there were no signs of any common illness. Within hours of the call, one of Porton Down’s Special Response Teams, which are on 24/7 standby, was deployed.

The initial symptoms of the two victims in Salisbury matched those of a nerve agent. The team quickly collected samples before taking them to the laboratory at Porton Down for analysis.

Subsequent tests confirmed that a military-grade nerve agent had been used on British streets. A combination of scientific analysis and other information led the British government to conclude that Russia was likely behind the attack on the Skripals.

Regarding the suspected poisoning of the father and son of the former spy, Russian officials have raised the question that the nerve agent used to poison them could have come from the Porton Down laboratory. The Russian side said that Porton Down is located very close to the city of Salisbury - where the attack took place. However, DSTL's executive director Gary Aitkenhead denied the accusations from Moscow.

“We have the highest level of security controls in relation to the work we do here. We would not be allowed to operate without controls that would allow anything to leave the four walls of this facility. There is no way that the chemicals would leave here. We are absolutely certain that nothing could be transferred from here to the outside world,” Mr. Gary Aitkenhead emphasized.

Defensive purposes

Wire fences surround the Porton Down campus. Photo: BBC

DSTL officials say the lab’s role is to use its scientific expertise to support police investigations, including safeguarding forensic samples to ensure they can be used as evidence later, as well as supporting medical teams in treating and helping to address public health concerns. In addition, DSTL also assists emergency responders and police to ensure they are not contaminated when attending various crime scenes.

Despite being invited to the Porton Down laboratory, the reporters ofBBCWhat they can observe is also strictly limited. Armed police and sniffer dogs patrol the area regularly. Scientists there also have to wear protective suits and gas masks at all times while working.

Although built during the war to deal with the threat of chemical agents, Porton Down's purpose is now primarily defensive. Porton Down is seeking to develop better ways to protect British soldiers and civilians from attack.

According to the BBC, a large house is being built in a corner of the Porton Down campus and there is information from Russia that this house is a British chemical weapons factory.

“That is nonsense. This is a defense organization,” David Pepper, president of DSTL, toldBBC.

International inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) arrived in Salisbury and were given permission by a judge to take blood samples from the Skripals as part of their investigation. They also visited Porton Down, an OPCW-accredited laboratory, which has been a key link in the case that has strained UK-Russia relations in recent weeks.