Camden Council recently gave the go ahead for the UKCMRI project, a massive biotech and virus research laboratory, at a cost to the taxpayer of £220 million. Yet for just a fraction of this sum, the council could retain all the vital services which are currently threatened by savage government cutbacks.
The land where UKCMRI would be built was originally public land, and was earmarked for a mix of social housing and community facilities, both of which are desperately needed in this area. The proposed site is directly next to several high density housing estates, in one of the most deprived and over-crowded areas of London, with an acute housing shortage.
Furthermore, there were a number of bids by companies wanting to use the land for housing and community facilities, one of which was for £20million MORE than the successful UKCMRI bid.
This research centre will store and work on some of the most dangerous viruses known to science, in the centre of London
This research laboratory will store and work on some of the most dangerous viruses known to science, right in the centre of London. The danger of these substances, pathogens and viruses being leaked and exposed out of the building is a very real threat.
On top of the risk of accidental leaks, there is also the very real threat that the centre would be a prime target for “terrorist” attack, as has been widely reported in the press. With millions of passengers passing through the stations, extremely busy roads on its doorstep, populations clustered all around it, the centre would represent a huge risk to the public if a leakage of leak of deadly pathogens were to occur, either through accidental leakage or due to an attack of some kind.

SPLAC
A new name for UKCMRI
Francis Crick Institute