Homeopathy on NHS risks lives, says top scientist

The Government's most senior scientist today warned that homeopathic medicine was putting lives at risk.

Sir David King said the alternative medicine, whose supporters include Prince Charles and novelist Jeanette Winterson, was of no medical use whatsoever.

He criticised the Department of Health for supporting the use of the technique.

"There is not one jot of evidence supporting the notion that homeopathic medicines are of any assistance whatsoever," he told MPs. "Therefore, I would say they are a risk to the population because people may take them expecting they are dealing with a serious problem."

Sir David, chief scientific adviser to Gordon Brown, said he was concerned that the Medicines Health and Regulatory Authority allowed homeopaths to state on labels what ailments their remedies will treat. "How can you have homeopathic medicines labelled by a department which is driven by science?" he said.

His comments reignited the debate about why the NHS continues to allow Primary Care Trusts to fund homeopathy. Liberal Democrat MP Dr Evan Harris, a member of the Innovation, Universities, Skills select committee, said homeopathic treatment was difficult to justify when it worked "as a placebo at best and when the NHS cannot afford medicines that are known to be effective".

The Royal College of Pathologists, the Medical Research Council and the Royal Society have all spoken out against plans to allow manufacturers to make therapeutic claims about their products.

Primary Care Trusts in Brent, Harrow, Kensington and Chelsea have all withdrawn funding in recent years.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "Each Primary Care Trust prioritises its own budget, and may in some cases provide funding for homeopathy services for patients in their local area."

No one from the Society of Homeopaths was available for comment.