The UK Biological Weapons Program - Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1945 - page 60

dence of survival of airborne micro-organisms on external conditions:
the life in unfavourable circumstances was very short, in favourable cir-
cumstances very long.” 46 Prior to this discussion Fildes had noted pessi-
mistically that “it was becoming clear that the hazards of biological war-
fare, as distinct from sabotage, were not as great as has been thought. A
statement should be made to this effect.” 47 Although this opinion was
minuted, no official statement of it was made by the board in its recom-
mendations from the meeting.
Special Operations Trials
On land during 1955 another series of trials took place away from the
MRD to ascertain the vulnerability of Whitehall to a germ warfare attack.
There is very little detail about these Special Operations trials in the pub-
lic domain. With assistance from the Post Office and MI5 (Military Intelli-
gence Department 5, responsible for domestic security), at least two trials
took place. The first simply investigated the air currents in the building
and found leaks throughout the system. The following trial was “more
ambitious” and involved MRD staff distributing spores of the simulant
Bacillus globigii. 48 Two weeks after releasing the bacteria, experimenters
took samples at various points within the building and concluded that the
Air Ministry Citadel and the Whitehall telephone exchange had been
contaminated. The BRAB was also informed that a later test had suc-
ceeded in contaminating the Cabinet Office. 49 After this initial investiga-
tion, which seemed to have confirmed fears about sabotage, no immedi-
ate follow-up trials were planned. These do not appear to have been the
only trials connected with a potential sabotage attack. Henderson else-
where referred in passing to “contamination work” that had been carried
out on the London Underground, suggesting that this form of attack
could be “applied to the whole country.” 50
Policy Changes: “A Change of Wording and a Rearrangement
of Order”
Over the course of the biological warfare sea trials, the broader economic
and policy context changed. In 1952, as an already economically ex-
hausted Britain began to feel the cost of involvement in the Korean con-