WITH reference to the View From The Commons article (Journal, June 24), when I was the Liberal Parlimentary candidate in the early 1990s one of my first fact-finding visits was to the secure laboratory facilities at Porton Down.

Later, its success as part of a South Wiltshire Science Park was at the forefront of my concerns as leader of the district council.

I have long understood the significance of the work at what is now known as the Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response (CEPR).

It is essential for our national security and the better health of our world, and generates a significant income from foreign governments. It directly and indirectly employs many local people. Millions of pounds have been invested in the facilities. It is a world leader in the production of much-needed drugs and vaccines. We should all work together to secure its base in south Wiltshire. That’s why I welcome our local MP’s efforts to secure the future of the centre.

The ill-conceived plan to move CEPR to the GlaxoSmithKline New Frontiers site at Harlow, at a staggering cost of £400million, would be hugely wasteful in a time of austerity. The plan would be disruptive and risky to the continued success of the centre. It would uproot good scientists, and their children, from their local homes.

From a south Wiltshire perspective, it would also have an entirely adverse effect on jobs and our local economy. There is a much cheaper, less risky and, potentially, more successful option. That is to enable the CEPR to have more operational autonomy and allow experienced Porton-based scientists to establish a new co-operative organisation which can take advantage more flexibly of business opportunities and revenue streams from across the Atlantic.

In a spirit of co-operation, I entirely support the mature, responsible and bi-partisan approach of our local MP on this matter.

Cllr PAUL SAMPLE, Salisbury