My father the fraud: Daughter reveals how key scientist in Primodos scandal built career on lies

A renowned pharmacologist and adept witnesser successful the Primodos cause ungraded has been unmasked arsenic a fraud - by his daughter.

Professor Michael Briggs, who was besides a NASA idiosyncratic and advisor to the World Health Organisation, built his glittering vocation connected lies by faking his qualifications.

The revelations travel successful a caller publication called The Scientist Who Wasn't There, written by his girl Joanne Briggs - and Sky News tin present uncover however his communicative sheds caller airy connected a aesculapian ungraded that has rumbled connected for 5 decades.

From 1966 to 1970, Professor Briggs was UK probe manager for Schering pharmaceuticals, which made the gestation trial cause Primodos, sold successful the UK with large commercialized success.

Later, hundreds of mothers would assertion that the cause damaged their babies successful the womb - and Briggs was called arsenic an adept witnesser to situation their case.

His engagement successful knowing the effects of Primodos runs from the 1960s to the existent day, and questions stay implicit whether his probe was among a much caller assemblage of enactment which has been utilized by the authorities to warrant not mounting up a redress strategy for disabled claimants.

Yet, Briggs was a antheral who faked research.

"When I was small, I believed my dada to beryllium the lone antheral who knew each science," Joanne Briggs writes.

Son of a typewriter mechanic from Manchester, helium was an enigmatic figure, often dressed successful a blazer and sunglasses. In 1 aged household photo, Joanne says helium looks similar "an operative from MI5, aft he'd been issued with a woman and child".

Professor Briggs claimed helium had advised movie manager Stanley Kubrick connected the making of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

He had so worked for NASA connected the Mars probe, based astatine the California Institute of Technology, though Joanne believes helium utilized "a three-card trick" to get the job.

Speaking to Sky News successful her room successful Sussex, she pulls retired 2 A4-bound books.

One purports to beryllium a PhD thesis from Cornell University successful 1959 by MH Briggs. The different is simply a Doctor of Science grade dated 1961 from Wellington University successful New Zealand.

"Both of these documents are unluckily fakes," says Joanne, explaining that her begetter worked for a twelvemonth arsenic a teaching adjunct astatine Cornell and, astatine best, did a master's thesis.

The "super doctorate" from Wellington would person required a existent PhD, and Joanne believes helium did taxable something, but examiners described it arsenic "unfavourable".

"He had a precise contorted CV, that's for sure," says Joanne. "He ne'er completed a sustained portion of enactment starring to a higher grade of the benignant that you would expect a idiosyncratic to have."

Professor Briggs's sanction cropped up successful Sky News investigations into Primodos. First successful leaked letters from Schering successful which scientists were discussing their concerns astir the information of the drug.

Read more:
Primodos - the concealed cause scandal
Evidence could uncover 'one of the biggest aesculapian frauds of 20th century'

A paediatrician named Isabel Gal raised the alarm successful a insubstantial published successful subject diary Nature, informing of a higher incidence of spina bifida successful babies calved to mothers who utilized hormone gestation tests.

Briggs past asked a statistician, Dennis Cook, to spot if determination was a correlation betwixt accrued income of the cause and malformations successful UK newborns.

Mr Cook, who aboriginal shared his survey with Sky News, wrote to Briggs informing that the correlation was "alarming".

Yet Briggs didn't enactment connected this.

He aboriginal near Schering, taking up elder roles successful universities successful Zambia past Australia, but successful 1982, erstwhile Primodos campaigners attempted to writer Schering for damages, Briggs was a cardinal adept witnesses offering to springiness grounds connected behalf of the company.

Joanne says: "The illness of the proceedings has been attributed to him by galore radical connected the run side. He appeared to beryllium an adept connected a satellite stage, an incomparable expert.

"He advised the World Health Organisation's hormone pharmaceutical committee, truthful you couldn't inquire for a amended CV, but unluckily what was successful his CV was mostly of his ain making."

Joanne describes her father's vocation arsenic "a bid of fraudulent acts".

In the precocious 1980s helium was caught retired by Sunday Times writer Brian Deer who recovered Briggs had been fabricating probe for Schering and different company, relating to the information of the contraceptive pill.

Mr Deer told Sky News: "He was successful those days of typewriters, fundamentally sitting determination and reasoning of what the information ought to be, and typing it successful to tables and sending it disconnected to aesculapian journals to publish."

Aged 51, Briggs died successful mysterious circumstances, soon aft the nonfiction was published. But his bequest wasn't over.

Sky News has recovered carnal studies produced portion helium was UK probe manager astatine Schering were among dozens of studies submitted by the shaper for usage successful an adept moving radical (EWG) study published successful 2017 that examined Primodos for the government.

Twenty-eight carnal studies from the 1960s and 70s were provided by Schering, and portion a fig were produced successful the precocious 70s aft Briggs near the company, immoderate of those were outsourced and done successful mentation for the litigation successful which Briggs was a cardinal witness.

Joanne believes based connected the dates and "hallmark characteristics of his crook of phrase" that immoderate of the studies were produced by her father.

"There are probe papers determination that were really produced by my dad," she says. "And they were relied connected by the adept moving radical arsenic portion and parcel of their conclusion."

The EWG study has since been utilized by authorities and manufacturers to disregard much caller claims by campaigners astir the drug's damaging effects.

When asked specifically astir 1 rabbit survey from 1970, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which oversaw the EWG, was capable to corroborate it was not done by Briggs, but asked america to nonstop further questions astir Schering's studies to the manufacturer.

It added that the MHRA is "committed to reviewing immoderate caller technological information which becomes disposable since the decision of the Expert Working Group's review".

Schering is present owned by Bayer, which told us: "In 2017, the Expert Working Group of the UK's Commission connected Human Medicines concluded that the disposable technological information from a assortment of technological disciplines does not enactment a causal narration betwixt the usage of enactment hormones successful gestation and an accrued incidence of congenital anomalies oregon different adverse outcomes, specified arsenic miscarriage."

Responding to circumstantial questions astir Professor Briggs, they added: "Backed by the sizeable assemblage of technological probe and evidence, Bayer maintains that determination is nary causal narration betwixt usage of Primodos and an accrued incidence of congenital anomalies."

But they person not told america whether studies by a serial faker were oregon weren't utilized to reason that the cause was safe.

Joanne hopes her revelations could pb to a rethink astir the evidence.

"I deliberation this communicative astir a antheral successful the centre of this who happens to beryllium a fabricated person, a hollow man, who has been relied connected to specified an grade for his expertise," she says.

"That doesn't onslaught maine arsenic irrelevant."