LONDON, March 27: Britain on Tuesday joined the expanding group of chemical weapon-free countries of the world as it successfully destroyed its last holdings of old chemical weapons. Britain gave up its offensive chemical weapons capability in the 1950s.

To date 182 states have signed up to the Chemical Weapons Convention, and some 2.67 million munitions have been destroyed. Only 13 states are yet to join the convention.

Britian’s Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram while making the announcement said: “Today marks another landmark for our efforts to rid the world of these terrible weapons. We have met our obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and destroyed our old chemical weapons holdings ahead of schedule.”

The event means Britain has met its obligation under the Chemical Weapons Convention to destroy its holdings of old, unusable weapons by April 2007. In total 3,812 old chemical weapons have been safely destroyed at a cost of £10M. If further small quantities of such weapons are unearthed in the future, they too will be destroyed. Britain gave up its offensive chemical weapons capability in the 1950s.

The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter, said: “The United Kingdom has long been an effective and committed advocate and implementer of the global chemical weapons ban. We commend the United Kingdom on meeting this obligation to destroy old chemical weapons in exemplary fashion.”

The CWC has an effective verification regime. To date weapons inspectors have carried out over 2,800 routine inspections in 77 countries.

UK also plays a key role in the G8 Global Partnership which is helping Russia destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons. By implementing construction and procurement projects worth over £70M, Britain is directly helping to eliminate over 40,000 tonnes of chemical warfare agent which in the wrong hands would pose a real threat to security both in Russia and the rest of the world.

To demonstrate that the UK’s chemical weapons have been consigned to history Mr Ingram, will be presenting the Second World War Chemical Shell to the Museum in front of the 1918 painting by John Singer Sargent, Gassed, which depicts the horror of the use of chemical weapons in WW1.

The London branch of the Imperial War Museum houses exhibits ranging from tanks and aircraft to photographs and personal letters; they include film and sound recordings, and some of the 20th century's best-known paintings. Visitors can explore six floors of exhibitions and displays, including a permanent exhibition dedicated to the holocaust and a changing programme of special temporary exhibitions.