UK defence secretary Gavin Williamson said the new facility would be located at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) in Porton Down, near Salisbury – the city where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found collapsed after being poisoned with a deadly Russian-made nerve agent.

“If we doubted the threat Russia poses to our citizens, we only have to look at the shocking example of their reckless attack in Salisbury. We know the chemical threat doesn’t just come from Russia but from others,” Williamson said. 

“We have world-class expertise at Defence Science Technology Laboratory (DSTL) Porton Down... we will be strengthening this capability by investing 48 million pounds in a new Chemical Weapons Defence Centre to ensure we maintain our cutting edge in chemical analysis and defence,” he said, adding that new measures will include British troops being vaccinated against anthrax – a dangerous bacterial disease used in some bio-terror attacks.