Guidelines call for guarantee of scientific advisers' independence

Thursday, November 5, 2009 - 19:14 in Mathematics & Economics

Leading academics including a former chief scientist and the president of the Royal Society ask government to sign up to guidelines guaranteeing right to disagree publicly with policiesSenior scientists are calling on the government to sign up to a new set of guidelines that would guarantee that scientific advice remains free from political interference following the sacking of its chief drugs adviser David Nutt.The guidelines were sent to the government yesterday as the House of Commons science and technology select committee wrote to home secretary Alan Johnson demanding a full account of why he dismissed Nutt from the chairmanship of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).More than 20 academics drafted the guidelines that they say "would enhance confidence in the scientific advisory system and help government to secure essential advice". Signatories include the former chief of the Medical Research Council Colin Blakemore, former government chief scientist Robert...

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