Letter of complaint to the Rt Hon The Lord Drayson

Professor Malcolm Hooper Ph.D.,B.Pharm.,C.Chem.,MRIC
Sunderland
SR3

11th February 2010

The Rt Hon The Lord Drayson
Minister of State
(Science and Innovation)
1, Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0ET



Dear Minister

re: Complaint about the Medical Research Council

It is with deep concern that I lodge this formal complaint about the Medical Research Council with you in your capacity as Minister with responsibility for the MRC.

You will doubtless be aware of the serious problems at the MRC that were documented in the 2003 Report of the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology (HC 132) in which MPs issued a damning judgment on the MRC, lambasting it for wasting funds and for introducing misguided strategies for its research. MPs found evidence of poor planning and of focusing on “politically-driven” projects that have diverted money away from top-quality proposals. The unprecedented attack was the result of a detailed probe into the workings of the MRC.

Sadly, very serious problems continue to exist at the MRC, with disastrous results for patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

The attached 442 page Report addresses the background to the MRC “PACE” Trial on “CFS/ME”, the biomedical evidence that disproves the assumptions of the MRC trial Principal Investigators, the many extremely disturbing issues surrounding the PACE Trial, and illustrations from the Manuals used in the trial.

The unproven beliefs and assumptions of the MRC Investigators are presented as fact; trial therapists have been trained to provide participants with misinformation, and therapists have also been trained to advise participants to ignore symptoms arising from the interventions, a situation that may in some cases result in death.

Patients with ME/CFS do not seek any special consideration; they simply wish to be treated equally to those with other classified neurological disorders. As shown in the commissioned Report that accompanies this complaint (a bound copy of which will follow), the MRC Trial clearly demonstrates that people with ME/CFS are not treated equally to those with other chronic neurological disorders.

Given the long-standing recognition that at least one of the interventions used in the trial is contra-indicated for people with ME/CFS, an intervention that is already known to have adverse effects on 50% of those who have already undertaken it, there is international concern about the MRC PACE Trial.

I urge you to read the attached Report and to respond to it with due attention and alacrity. You may wish to know that the Report is already on international academic websites.

Yours sincerely