Scientists hail British cloning success

Scientists around the world today welcomed a British breakthrough in human embryo cloning which they believe will pave the way to curing diseases such as Alzheimer's and diabetes.

Researchers at Newcastle University have successfully cloned a human embryo, becoming only the second in the world to do so and placing Britain at the forefront of controversial stem cell technology.

The team was the first in Europe to be given the goahead to clone embryos after being granted a licence by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority last year. The clone was created as part of research into treatments for diabetes.

Only one other group in the world, at Seoul University, has perfected the technique. That team today announced it would now create stem cells tailored to patients

Stephen Minger, of King's College, London, said the work was important because it confirmed that other labs are capable of repeating the South Koreans' success.

However, the development will also provoke bitter condemnation. Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: "An embryo, no matter how small, is a human life. We must respect that."