A recent Wilton Park conference examined the challenge of verification ‘…across the range of treaties where (it) is essential; biological weapons, whale conservationists, carbon emission specialists, political economists, and auditors…’. Reporting In his blog, Richard Burge, Chief Executive of Wilton Park, wrote pessimistically of the prospects for treaties without effective verification mechanisms. Despite decades of effort, the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention which came into force in 1975, still lacks any such mechanisms. This seminar will give a scientific perspective on the quest to control the threat from biological weapons, contrasting its frustrations with apparent progress with other ‘weapons of mass destruction’ and asking whether we can agree with Mr Burge.