you have, as mr rowley said, disavowed yourself of the 2012 contract.k a little embarrassed about the failure of this contract. and it's another it project failure in a department that you became permanent secretary of less than a year ago. aren't you rather worried about the capability of your department to let these large contracts, esn, esn, e borders, for example, as other examples of contracts from the home office... i think there are many, many excellent projects which are being delivered by the home office and are delivered in a way that fits within a framework of to time, to cost, good engagement... 0k, you're talking about the good ones. of course you want to. i could get waylaid and ask you to detail them, but what i'm talking about today is this particular contract. and i think mr rowley has highlighted very effectively that there were a number of problems, and you've agreed with a lot of that concern. i don't think anyone‘s saying that the noe is wrong and didn't things go wrong here, but this is on top of esn, which we have seen you about n

mr speaker, i spoke only this morning with assistant commissioner mark rowley, and he confirmed thatpaced criminal investigation. as such, i will not comment further on the nature of the nerve agent. we must give the police the space they need to conduct a thorough investigation. all members will recognise that an investigation such as this will be complex and may take some time. public safety continues to be the number one priority for this government. professor sally davies, the chief medical officer, stated yesterday that, based on the evidence we have, there is a low risk to the public. the use of a nerve agent on uk soil is a brazen and reckless act. this was attempted murder in the most cruel and public way. people are right to want to know who to hold to account. but, if we are to be rigorous in this investigation, we must avoid speculation, and allow the police to carry on their investigation. as the assistant commissioner said yesterday, the investigation now involves hundreds of officers following every possible lead to find those responsible. some of those leads have come

mr speaker, i spoke only this morning with assista nt i spoke only this morning with assistant commissioner mark rowleysuch, i will not comment further on the nature of the nerve agent. we must give police the space they need to conduct a thorough investigation. all members will recognise that an investigation such as this will be complex and may ta ke such as this will be complex and may take some time. public safety continues to be the number one priority for this government professor sally davies, the chief medical officer, stated yesterday that, based on the evidence we have, there is a low risk to the public. the uk has a world leading emergency response. it is regularly tested and exercised to ensure we can deliver an effective response to a wide range of chemical, biological and radiological incidents. the three emergency services are well supplied with state of the art equipment to respond to such threats. the front—line response is supported by world —class front—line response is supported by world—class scientific research and advice. this ensures that decision—making on the ground by all age