Health
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Primodos Expert's Career Built on Lies
It’s a story that feels like it belongs in a thriller novel, doesn't it? The idea of a brilliant scientist, a trusted expert, whose entire career was built on a foundation of elaborate fiction. And when that fiction involves a medical scandal that has haunted families for decades, it takes on a particularly poignant and disturbing dimension. This is precisely what has come to light with revelations about Professor Michael Briggs, a figure deeply entwined with the controversial Primodos drug.
For years, Professor Briggs was a name invoked to lend authority and credibility, particularly in challenging claims made by mothers who believed Primodos had caused devastating harm to their babies in the womb. As reported by Sky News, Briggs presented himself as a distinguished pharmacologist, a former NASA scientist, and an advisor to the World Health Organization. His impressive credentials seemed to bolster arguments that any links between the pregnancy test drug and birth defects were tenuous. He was, by all accounts, the expert witness you’d want on your side if you were defending the drug's safety.
But now, his own daughter, Joanne Briggs, has peeled back the curtain in her new book, "The Scientist Who Wasn't There." What she's revealed is that much of her father's celebrated career was a carefully constructed illusion. His PhDs and advanced degrees, documents that formed the bedrock of his supposed expertise, have been exposed as forgeries. Joanne’s account suggests a pattern of deception, a "series of fraudulent acts," as she describes it, that stretches back to his time as UK research director for Schering pharmaceuticals, the very company that manufactured Primodos.
This isn't just about one man's dishonesty; it's about how that dishonesty might have impacted generations of families grappling with the fallout from Primodos. The evidence uncovered by Sky News suggests that Briggs's fabricated research, or research done under his direction, may have been part of the scientific basis used to dismiss claims and deny a government redress scheme for those affected. It’s a chilling thought: that the very authorities meant to ensure safety and justice may have been misled by a man who was, in essence, a phantom expert. This raises profound questions about accountability and the long shadow cast by the Primodos scandal. As we learn more about this intricate deception, one has to wonder what other scientific narratives we’ve taken at face value, and how many more truths are waiting to be unearthed from the past.
For years, Professor Briggs was a name invoked to lend authority and credibility, particularly in challenging claims made by mothers who believed Primodos had caused devastating harm to their babies in the womb. As reported by Sky News, Briggs presented himself as a distinguished pharmacologist, a former NASA scientist, and an advisor to the World Health Organization. His impressive credentials seemed to bolster arguments that any links between the pregnancy test drug and birth defects were tenuous. He was, by all accounts, the expert witness you’d want on your side if you were defending the drug's safety.
But now, his own daughter, Joanne Briggs, has peeled back the curtain in her new book, "The Scientist Who Wasn't There." What she's revealed is that much of her father's celebrated career was a carefully constructed illusion. His PhDs and advanced degrees, documents that formed the bedrock of his supposed expertise, have been exposed as forgeries. Joanne’s account suggests a pattern of deception, a "series of fraudulent acts," as she describes it, that stretches back to his time as UK research director for Schering pharmaceuticals, the very company that manufactured Primodos.
This isn't just about one man's dishonesty; it's about how that dishonesty might have impacted generations of families grappling with the fallout from Primodos. The evidence uncovered by Sky News suggests that Briggs's fabricated research, or research done under his direction, may have been part of the scientific basis used to dismiss claims and deny a government redress scheme for those affected. It’s a chilling thought: that the very authorities meant to ensure safety and justice may have been misled by a man who was, in essence, a phantom expert. This raises profound questions about accountability and the long shadow cast by the Primodos scandal. As we learn more about this intricate deception, one has to wonder what other scientific narratives we’ve taken at face value, and how many more truths are waiting to be unearthed from the past.
