For immediate release
28 January 2005

Politics is fickle friend to science

Chair of the Science & Technology Select Committee Dr Ian Gibson MP will use a seminar at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich tonight to criticise the way that scientific evidence is turned into policy.

He also accused the media of inciting controversy by appealing to public fears rather than responding to evidence. For example, in 1999 forty-five per cent of articles on genetic modification were written by political journalists rather than science and technology correspondents.

Dr Ian Gibson, MP for Norwich North, said: “Politics is opportunistic. It chooses when to wait for research and when not to. Decisions are often more political than evidence based.

“While the precautionary principle is used to back certain policies, lack of evidence can be cited as an excuse to not act politically on others”.

Dr Gibson MP will talk at the second Institute of Food Research ‘Nutrition Soirée’, organised by Head of Nutrition Professor Sue Fairweather-Tait to encourage collaboration between scientists across the Norwich Research Park.

Notes to Editors

• Please contact Zoe Dunford for more information: 01603 255111 / 07768 164185 zoe.dunford@ifr.ac.uk
  
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