Government-funded programmes to develop genetically modified fish which are sterile and fast-growing are to be investigated by MPs.

The Independent on Sunday revealed last month that three Whitehall departments and the European Commission have spent nearly 3m [pounds sterling] on creating GM tilapia, salmon, and trout despite mounting concern over the potential dangers posed by GM technology.

Last night, John Horam, chairman of the Commons environmental audit committee, said an inquiry would be held into the disclosures after the election. "It is one of the subjects which we have targeted for investigation," he said.

The environmental audit committee, which will include aquaculture in a wide-ranging inquiry into GM agriculture this autumn, will also investigate moves by an American company to market GM salmon around the world.

The Massachusetts-based firm, AquaBounty, was involved in unsuccessful trials of growth-enhanced and sterile GM Atlantic salmon in Scotland in 1995. It has asked the US Food and Drug Administration for permission to begin commercial production of GM salmon, and claims orders for 15 million GM salmon eggs.

The committee will also investigate European Commission funding of GM fish farming and research, which runs into millions of euros.

The major government donor to GM fish research is the Department of International Development, headed by Clare Short. It has spent  813,450 [pounds sterling] on creating "transgenic" - genetically modified - tilapia at the University of Southampton; 585,000  [pounds sterling] on producing "reversibly sterile" tilapia and 861,000  [pounds sterling] on genetically enhanced breeding programmes for carp in India, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

Ms Short last week denied these projects were "secret", and insisted that full environmental trials were under way.