The UK Medical Research Council's (MRC's) determination to relocate the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) is coming under political scrutiny this week, with a parliamentary committee preparing to investigate plans that are bitterly opposed by scientific staff.
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has set November 19 as the deadline for written evidence to be submitted for its investigation, which was triggered after committee members were bombarded with complaints about the MRC's plans during a routine fact-finding mission to the NIMR.
In a press statement, Committee Chairman Ian Gibson, a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), said: "There is a lot of unrest about this move, maybe because the scientific case for it has not been made loudly enough. We want to get to the bottom of the real reasons behind the move and to see if they stand up to scrutiny."
Gibson told The Scientist this ...
