The Right Hon. Frederick W. Mulley, MP 
Dear Secretary of State, 
I have pleasure in submitting the report of the Working Party that you 
appointed in August 1975 to follow up the recommendations of the Ashby 
Report on the Experimental Manipulation of the Genetic Composition of 
Micro-Organisms and, in particular, to draft a code of practice and to make 
recommendations on the establishment of a central advisory service. 
We have consulted many of the individuals and organisations likely to be 
concerned with the techniques of genetic manipulation and we believe that 
there is a pressing need for the implementation of a system of advice and control 
for experiments in this field, in order that valuable work may proceed both 
rapidly and safely. We trust therefore that you will agree to publish this 
report and that you will give consideration to our recommendation that the 
central advisory service that we propose should be set up as quickly as possible. 
Yours sincerely, 
Professor Sir Robert Williams 
June 1976. 
IV- 2 
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