MORE DRUGS ADVISERS RESIGN FROM PANEL IN PROTEST AT NUTT SACKING

Three members of the Government's drugs advisory panel resigned last
night after Alan Johnson failed to persuade them to stay on after his
sacking of David Nutt as the body's chairman.

A source close to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD)
named the three advisers as Simon Campbell, Dr Ian Ragan and John Marsden.

Two other members of the committee, Les King and Marion Walker,
resigned last weekend in protest at the Home Secretary's dismissal of
Professor Nutt for questioning government policy on the classification
of Ecstasy and cannabis.

The latest resignations come as a blow to the Home Secretary, who had
hoped to prevent further departures from the council by meeting its
remaining 28 members this afternoon to discuss their concerns.

While the majority of the ACMD issued a joint statement with Mr
Johnson describing their discussions as "very constructive", three
were unconvinced by his assurances about the council's continued
independence and decided to resign.

The statement said: "The Home Secretary emphasised the value he placed
on ACMD's advice, the important contribution the ACMD had made to
government drugs policy in the past and how he expected it to continue
do so in the future. The ACMD summarised their concerns regarding how
their advice is received by the Home Office and over the dismissal of
Professor Nutt.

"The discussions were very constructive and it was agreed that the
ACMD would continue discussions with the Home Office and Government
Chief Scientific Advisors in establishing a way to work
collaboratively together into the future with the common purpose of
reducing drug-related harms in the UK."

Mr Johnson said that a statement of principles on the independence of
government science advice, proposed by more than 50 senior scientists,
was being considered by the Prime Minister and the Government's Chief
Scientific Adviser, Professor John Beddington.

Lord Drayson, the Science and Innovation Minister, told The Times last
week that the Government would accept the principles, though certain
details have still to be agreed.

A Home Office spokesman said that it woud provide further details "in
the near future" of how the department and council will work together
in future and how advice from the council is considered by ministers.

The Times understands that the ACMD did not ask Mr Johnson to
apologise for sacking Professor Nutt at the meeting, and that the Home
Secretary gave assurances about meeting the council before rejecting
its advice in future. Professor Beddington also met the council to
discuss their concerns over the continued independence of their
scientific advice.

An ACMD insider told The Times that the three members to quit were Dr
Campbell, a former head of worldwide discovery at the drugs company
Pfizer and a former President of the Royal Society of Chemistry; Dr
Marsden, a research psychologist at the Institute of Psychiatry; and
Mr Ragan, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry consultant. None
of the three was available for comment.

The departures of Dr Campbell and Dr Ragan would be particularly
damaging as this would leave the council without representation from
the pharmaceutical industry, which is required by law. Professor
Walker's resignation had already left the council without a
pharmacist, another required discipline.

Professor Nutt said: "I'm not surprised. The way I have been treated
was reprehensible, and I'm pleased to have the support of these other
council members."

Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrat science spokesman, said: "The latest
resignations represent a deepening in the crisis of confidence of
scientists in the Government - in particular, in the Home Secretary.
That they come after Alan Johnson met the ACMD demonstrates that he
just doesn't get it when it comes to the importance of respecting the
academic freedom and integrity of independent, unpaid, science advisers.

"Ministers are entitled to their own opinions, but not to their own
facts. The cost of the failure of the Home Secretary to understand the
lessons of the BSE Inquiry will be poor policy - unless the Prime
Minister acts decisively to bring the Home Office and rest of
Government into line with established good practice.

"By clumsily and unfairly sacking David Nutt, Alan Johnson has been
rewarded with five resignations in protest. That takes a certain kind
of ineptitude."

Last night the Home Office said the resignations were regrettable but
talks with the ACMD were constructive.