MoD scientists deployed across Britain a number of times last year

Britain's Ministry of Defense scientists, specializing in nuclear and biological weapons, have been deployed an unspecified number of times across Britain in the past year. The reasons and location for deployment of the MoD scientists was not disclosed because of national security reasons.

But not to worry, the British government is actively 'engaging' muslim youth so as to prevent them from becoming 'radicalized'. However this will not change overnight. "To stop this radicalisation and extremism is going to take - and I get into trouble for saying this - about 30 years"BBC

Scientists from Porton Down have been deployed in the UK a "number of times this year", the government's head of counter-terrorism has told MPs.

The lab mainly specialises in nuclear and biological warfare but the reason for the deployments is not known.

Brigadier Chip Chapman told a committee of MPs he could not go into details for national security reasons.

The Commons defence committee is probing the UK's level of readiness for a terrorist or other emergency.

Lord West said ministers did not know the location and capability of all deployable troops in the UK at any one time but he was confident they could find out "straight away" in the event of an emergency.

The security minister said government agencies were now better informed about the counter-terrorism forces and scientific capabilities available to them - and a compendium had been made available to officials.

Major emergency

Brigadier Chapman told MPs "immediate response" teams from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) had been deployed on a number of occasions in the past year.

...

"The number of occasions they have been used and the circumstances I can not go into in this forum," said Brig Chapman, director of counter-terrorism and UK operations at the ministry of defence.

The DSTL, which is based in Wiltshire, is the UK's leading biological and chemical defence research centre.

It also develops a range of other technologies for military and civilian use, including X-ray scanning equipment and armour.

On the broader question of whether the UK was prepared for a major incident, Lord West confessed he did not know how many hospital beds could be made available in the event of an emergency of the order of 10,000 deaths.

But he said the Department of Health "would know" the figures and plans would be coordinated by the government's emergency planning committee Cobra.[...]

The security minister also said progress was being made on preventing young people becoming "radicalised" but he said it was going to be a long process.

He said he accepted Britain's foreign policy was a "problem" for some young Muslims but the government was now "engaging" with them.

"This isn't going to change just like that. To stop this radicalisation and extremism is going to take - and I get into trouble for saying this - about 30 years, I think.