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Department of Health

I am not sure whether my hon. Friend was present earlier, but I tried to make that distinction when I said that the integrity of the scientists in the industry and their devotion to their work was not in question. The Select Committee report called for much greater action from the Government in every way. It is disappointing that so few members of the previous Committee are members of the new one, but I am sure that the new Committee will vigorously take up the report and the deficiency in the Government’s response to it. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, South-East (Dr. Iddon) said, enormous strides have been made in the work of the drug industry over the years, but there is still an awful energy in the industry that is used with malign effect—disease-mongering by inventing diseases and then a cure for them. The medicalisation of society has proceeded at a great rate and is looting huge amounts of money from the national health service to the detriment of other services. The drug budget increases constantly. Some of those drugs are essential and life-saving but others are not; in fact, they are life-damaging.