From Dr. Evan Harris’ blog, we have his letter to Science Minister Lord Drayson asking for an inquiry into Home Secretary Alan Johnson’s alleged violations of the new principles for scientific advice. I don’t know all of the details that Harris – a Member of Parliament and the Liberal Democrat party’s science spokesman – discusses, but he makes a decent case that the Home Secretary violated at least some of these principles in rushing the decision on classifying mephedrone and not allowing for full review by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).
Lord Drayson has indicated he would “respond as soon as possible.” As I noted, there’s a big issue of how ministers are supposed to be held accountable for violations of the principles, as it’s not explicitly stated. Discussions of making the principles part of the ministerial code (which presumably would make them binding on ministerial conduct) have typically been postponed until after the next general election (May 6). Absent such provisions, it seems likely that Prime Minister Brown will not do anything against Johnson, given the lack of chastisement from any senior party official from Labour or the Conservatives over Johnson’s sacking of Professor Nutt last fall.
Pasco Phronesis 