David Nutt, head of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), has been sacked by Alan Johnson, the ÍøÆØÃÅ Secretary, after questioning the Government¡¯s policies.

Mr Johnson said he had ¡°lost confidence¡± in the advice of the professor, who heads the Psychopharmacology Unit at the University of Bristol.

This week, Professor Nutt ¨C who was earlier reprimanded by Jacqui Smith, the previous ÍøÆØÃÅ Secretary, for his remarks ¨C gave a lecture at King¡¯s College London in which he said that smoking cannabis created only a ¡°relatively small risk¡± of psychotic illness.

He also claimed that those who wanted ecstasy to be reclassified as a less harmful substance had ¡°won the intellectual argument¡±.

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In a letter to Professor Nutt, Mr Johnson writes: ¡°I cannot have public confusion between scientific advice and policy, and have therefore lost confidence in your ability to advise me as chair of the ACMD¡­ I would therefore ask you to step down from the council with immediate effect.¡±

The BBC cites a reply from Professor Nutt in which he says he is ¡°disappointed¡± by the decision. ¡°While I accept that there is a distinction between scientific advice and government policy, there is clearly a degree of overlap¡­ If scientists are not allowed to engage in the debate at this interface, then you devalue their contribution to policymaking and undermine a major source of carefully considered and evidence-based advice,¡± he says.

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Scientists are likely to react with shock to the news.

Phil Willis MP, chair of the Science and Technology Committee, said: ¡°It is disturbing if an independent scientist should be removed for reporting sound scientific advice.

¡°I am writing immediately to the ÍøÆØÃÅ Secretary to ask for clarification as to why the distinguished scientist¡­ has been removed of duties as chair of the ACMD at a time when independent scientific advice to government is essential.¡±

The ACMD is described on its website as an ¡°independent expert body that advises government on drug-related issues¡±.

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zoe.corbyn@tsleducation.com