MPs back £660million medical research superlab

A maximum security "superlab" has been given a clean bill of health by MPs despite financial concerns about its central London location.

The planned £660 million Francis Crick Institute, behind the British Library in St Pancras, will be capable of containing flu viruses, malaria, tuberculosis, cancer cells and HIV.

Following a parliamentary inquiry, the science and technology select committee released a report on the facility. It called it "impressive and clearly in the public interest" but expressed concerns about the location.

Campaigners fear the 15-storey site, which is close to hundreds of homes, could pose a risk if viruses escape. The centre denies this. The building, formerly the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation, will be secured to "biosafety level three-plus" and has pledged to become a "global centre of research excellence".

The committee said the case for the location near St Pancras station "was not overwhelming" and another area of the UK could have benefited.