11th July 2024
As regular readers will know, Zoë Harcombe and I sued the Mail on Sunday (Associated Newspapers) and Barney Calman for libel. This is a saga that began over five years ago. Which has explained much of my recent silence on this blog, following a hearing in July last year.
We won on almost all points. Some of them very technical. The entire judgment can be seen here https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/KB/2024/1523.pdf
Here is one part, section 509
“Before turning to the remaining issues, I should repeat that the exercise of determining the objective single natural and ordinary meaning of the Articles, and whether the Articles are or contain allegations of fact and/or expressions of opinion is wholly different and distinct from the assessment of Mr Calman’s subjective assessment of the meanings that the Articles bore (see [247] above). I have necessarily had to deal with many issues, in great detail, in the earlier part of this judgment. I put all of that to one side. Save for necessarily identifying those passages of the Articles that I have found to be privileged (or are agreed by the parties to be privilege) for the purposes of Curistan, the resolution of these other issues has no bearing on the objective assessment of the natural and ordinary meaning of the Articles and fact/opinion. In that respect, my task in the next part of the judgment is to apply the well-established principles as set out in G(5) ([380]-[387] above).”
Much of the judgement is rather similar. So, unless you suffer from insomnia, I would not recommend it as a cracking read. However, there are some gems to be found.
You may ask, and many have, why did you go ahead with this case. It was risky, costly, and you might lose. And, in the end, it will pass. People will forget it was ever written. Today’s news is tomorrow’s fish and chip supper wrapping.
Well, maybe. I think Judge Nicklin summed up what he felt were the main messages in the articles we complained about. This passage. Paragraph 254.
‘…the presentation of these articles, as a whole, reinforced this message. The “devastating investigation” exposed the “fake news” by “unequivocal science”. The “‘fake claims’ about proven medicines”, amounted to “deadly propaganda”, a “wanton spread of medical misinformation”, and a “vastly overstated” case by the “statin deniers”. The science showed that “none of which is right” and was contradicted by “researchers who have devoted their lives to understanding how to treat heart disease” and who had produced “the highest quality scientific evidence on the subject”. The “pernicious lies” of the ‘statin deniers’ “needlessly risked lives”, and damage to public health, that was “worse than the MMR scare”.
Essentially, in his finding about meaning [para 516], Judge Nicklin basically made clear we were accused of being pernicious liars spreading deadly propaganda – suspected to be for our own venal reasons. We had, potentially, killed many thousands. Someone did say to me ‘At least you weren’t accused of being a paedophile.’ This did not go down well with me.
‘So, killing thousands is better than being a paedophile, really?’
I consider that to be blamed for killing thousands is the worst possible accusation you can make against anyone, especially a doctor. Not only that, but the articles directly implied we were only doing this– in order to make money. Does it get worse. Can it possibly be worse?
Well, it could have been worse in that I could have been struck off, and not allowed to practise medicine ever again. After all, if what I did was ‘worse’ than the MMR scare, and we all know what happened to Andrew Wakefield who was struck off and can no longer work as a doctor. I have been waiting for the letter from the General Medical Council to drop through my letterbox for over five years now. So far, nothing.
In essence I could not possibly let this go, and nor could Zoë.
Where are we now? The initial judgement has been made, but the defendants (Associated Newspapers and Barney Calman) have indicated they intend to seek permission to appeal. And the appeals process can go on, and on. Ending up at an appeals court. Will the appeal be successful. I have no idea. Will they give in and accept the judgement. I hope so. I hope others can understand that if you are accused of killing thousands, simply in order to make money for yourself, then you really have to take a stand. If not, what?
Dr. Malcolm Kendrick 
Of course you had to do it. You couldn’t NOT do it.
But I’m still hoping that you’ll send me a name or two of doctors in Oz who share your outlook on cholesterol, Malcolm.
Dr Paul Mason – cardiologist. Follow on YouTube.
Dear Malcolm (and Zoe),
As well as appreciation, can I help you set up a GoFundMe account for you two?
Given that you have spent enormous time and energy fighting the good fight, I think it appropriate that we contribute a little to help defray the costs.
Simply get your accounts & lawyers to set up a bank account in the name of Kendrick and Harcombe. Go Fund Me will do the rest.
Yours sincerely,
Nicolaas Tydens
41 Dent Street Glen Iris Victoria Australia 3146
Mobile 0407123971
What a fabulous idea!
Dr Ross Walker is your man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU_Qt4zbY2Q
My highest respect to both yourself and Zoe. We need people such as you to continue to highlight the utter corruption and madness of what is laughably called our ‘Health’ system. Keep going. Those that have lost any integrity must be beaten. Thank you.
I can only applaud and support you both for the stand you’ve been forced to take, and send best wishes. No-one should be subjected to this, simply for raising questions and asking that others use a true scientific approach to find out whether they are valid. Thank you Malcolm and Zoe.
I have the utmost respekt for you and your pursuit of the truth
I am so glad you stood your ground. The media gets away with spreading misinformation and downright lies with impunity. This cannot be allowed because their audience does take what is printed as fact. And it lingers on Google and other search engines. t is easier to spread a lie than to un-spread it.
I would have happily contributed to your legal costs. You had to make that stand. Thank you for doing that – it must have been hugely stressful.
Interestingly, not one media outlet has reported this win. I wonder why….
With my very best wishes and wholehearted support.
Sarah
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Malcolm and Zoe
I’ve just been through a case where I sued. Though nothing as public as yours, nor personally and professionally insulting, I do understand the frustration of having the outcome in someone else’s hands.
From the limited knowledge I have, I believe you are dong the right thing. And I can tell you this, there are many, many people willing you both on and support you wholeheartedly.
Yes, powerful (and maybe crooked) forces against you but let’s hope that justice prevails.
Well done and good luck. The implications of this go beyond the virulently persistent cholesterol/statins thing.
Meanwhile I have seen no coverage of this anywhere and you could have easily been targeted by the Guardian as the Mail for the “left” and the “right” speak with one voice in support of the established view, as the pandemic clearly shows.
As Graham Stringer, the Labour MP (definitely Old Labour and not ‘New Labour’), said, during ‘the COVID period’ the Mail and Telegraph were the two papers most sympathetic to the anti-lockdown stance.
From my privileged position of complete ignorance, I venture to predict that the Mail’s strategy now will be to wait and delay matters as much as they possibly can. Apparently, from what Dr Kendrick has told us, the British justice system lends itself to such methods.
In the Assange case, the powers that be skilfully manipulated three justice systems to keep Mr Assange effectively imprisoned for 12 years – although he had not been charged with a single crime.
This must have sapped so much of your energy. I hope you are ok.
Morning Malcolm Many thanks for the update and like you I really hope that it doesnt go to appeal, mainly because it drags this out for who knows how long into the future. Many who appeal have deep pockets and the effects of a case dose not impact them in the same way – they can afford the inconvenience. I absolutely agree that defending your names against the claim that you could have killed 1000s is very well worth defending.
and lack of Legal Aid permits the Wealthy Big Boys to grind the likes of honest, good living individuals, to run out of funds. The wealthy defendants drag judgements through the lengthy, time consuming appeal system, thus reducing the litigants towards financial ruin or walking away.
Well done and good luck. The implications go beyond the cholesterol/statin thing.
You certainly had no choice but to defend yourselves. I’m supporting you all the way X
Hello Malcolm,
I read the judgement and it was hard going, but you and Zoe appear to have won the main arguments .
No doubt the Mail will keep appealing and delaying progress to Part 2.
But what would be Part 2 of the process? Is it assessment of damages assuming the appeals go your way?
Best wishes
Steve Cook
Sent from my iPad
Part two would be determination of facts. As in , can we support ours, can they support theird
but part 2 would be delayed if there is an appeal, thus dragging the torture on and on. I do wish you both get justice, as you have such a strong case.
Well done Malcolm – “the truth will always win out in the end” !! I sincerely hope so in your case.
I wish I could help. So many people must be wishing the same.
Hello Malcolm
Just a quick note to explain the reason why I so vehemently support cases and instances similar to yours come, and hope they come down on the side of truth.
My Dad, a Consultant Chest Physician, died of Leukaemia 50 years ago and I am absolutely convinced (as much as I can be anyway) that he would never have stood for the shenanigans and disgusting behaviour that we have seen from large swathes of the medical profession, particularly over the past four or five years. I didn’t know him well, being 13 when he died, but from talking to people who knew him and reading his obituary, I think I know what kind of guy he was. From his obit:
Dr W.R. (Dick) May
M.B., B.S., F.R.C.P., D,C,H.
3rd September 1973
As a colleague he leaves a gap impossible to fill. His genial disposition and desire to be of the greatest service endeared him to all. Tenacious and sometimes belligerent in argument in committee, he could always be expected to speak his mind with an obvious integrity and complete absence of malice in all his dealings. In consequence he evoked a degree of affection and trust among his medical and nursing colleagues rarely encountered and for this quality alone he will be sorely missed. In the face of a terminal illness of which he was well aware, involving repeated hospital admissions and procedures, he emanated a serene and uncomplaining courage which inspired all who were concerned with his treatment. It is for this, by any of his friends and colleagues, that he will be best remembered.
Sorry for the ramble, you probably have other things on your mind, but, if for nothing else, this is as a show of support and respect. To Zoe too.
Kind regards
Jeremy May.
Thank you. I always like to hear about others who took a stand.
I am full of admiration for your stand.
Well done!
Behind you every step of the way. I hope their appeal fails.
Don’t give up Doc
These hack purveyors of “The Truth” (I refuse to call them Journalists) belong in the Flat Earth Movement.
This case has taken over your life for five years and the appeal could take another five. Let’s hope not – for your sanity.
I’m just an ordinary woman and I prefer to believe you rather than the Daily Mail.
In February 1616, an Inquisitorial commission declared Galileo’s heliocentrism to be “foolish and absurd in philosophy, and formally heretical since it explicitly contradicts in many places the sense of Holy Scripture”
300 years later:
In 2017, an Inquisitorial newspaper declared Harcombe & Kendrick to be foolish and heretical as they spread deadly propaganda, and medical misinformation, and are “statin deniers”. Moreover, they use scientific information that explicitly contradicts in many places the sense of Holy Medical Scripture”
Good illustration thanks
The world needs more people like you Malcolm. Thanks for taking a (the?) stand.
Apart from the publication of your (very well researched) book, how were you “making money”? Suggesting that people don’t “buy” something does not make you any money, does it? I cannot see the basis of the original accusation.
There is no basis
The comments aren’t working for me. They were OK with the Judgment part 1. But from what I’ve read, the judge seems to have been very careful in his language. Hopefully this reduces the chance of an appeal being successful, or even better persuades them that it would be futile.
If anyone’s interested, Dr Kendrick’s lawyers have written a brief summary of several of the salient issues that were decided:
I find it interesting there’s a thumbs down on your post!!
I get a lot of thumbs down in my life. Some justified.
“Thumbs down” ?
Not this time malcolm. Good luck and so very well done so far.
If you accept the GoFundMe offer I am sure you know to stay well clear of personally administering any part of it. The purveyors of lies will look for dirt anywhere they can.
I am reading your book the Great Cholesterol Con at the moment. I had a heart attack 3 months ago, so I have a personal interest in statins and other medications that are sometimes peddled towards a compliant public.
I can see that when you decide to drill down for facts you know when you find wheat and when it is chaff.
Sometimes the tricky part is finding the wheat, when we are continualy bombarded by so many walls of “facts” from walls of “experts”.
Best wishes from Birmingham Uk.!!
Thanks. The world is a strange place, is it not?
That’s snookered me – I can’t decide whether to give that post a thumbs up thumbs down. I wouldn’t want you to think I was voting for “Some justified”!
Anyway some historians think we have it the wrong way round; the Romans gave “thumbs up” for “kill!” After all, it does look like a gladius being held upright.
Your work affirmed my unease when prescribed statins years ago. Thank you.
What a nightmare !!! Thanks for your courage !
Would love to see you sue wikipedia
Oh, if only………….
Well, for me, the judgement was “over my head” with all the legal jargon…..so, I will trust that you are happy with the outcome at this point. I have missed your newsletters and hoped that all was going well. Thank you for standing up to your beliefs. We have such a huge problem within the medical field that it’s hard to know what to trust. Respectfully, Sandi
Sent from my iPad
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I am in awe of Dr Zoë Harcombe’s and Dr Malcolm Kendricks courage in the face of such an onslaught. The world would be a better place if we had more people of this calibre.
I wish them every success.
The media accusing anyone of spreading misinformation for their own gain is actionable in its own right. Good luck to you sir and your colleague.
Oh my. You are so brave. In total admiration. Plenty of doctors on social media agree with you. Thank you for your wonderful, important work.
I am rooting for you.
Mary
Mary Spillane
mary@maryspillane.com
Business & Leadership Development
Sent from my iPhone
Hang in there Doc. I wish you every success.
Amongst my acquaintances, I don’t know anyone that has a good word to say about Statins, or those who dish them out like smarties. Like Covid, no deviation from the ‘scientific consensus’ is allowed. Big Pharma and money at the back of it all.
Thank you and Zoe for having the fortitude to stand up to the juggernaut of malicious misinformation.
Five years and you haven’t gotten to the nitty gritty of the case while Big Pharma keeps churning out the snake-oil, doctor’s keep prescribing it to unwitting patients and the heroes who expose the scandal are publicly maligned and given no choice but to sue the scoundrels. My goodness, what an upside down world we live in.
Wishing you good health, strength and success.
Just amazing that you have both found the strength to stand up to these – let’s face it – truth deniers. I’m not C vaxed and withstanding the opprobrium was bad enough as well as being told I was a) going to die and b) kill everyone around me. I can’t believe how very much worse this must be for you both. As I have said before, if there is ever need for a fighting fund, count me in. You are an inspiration. Thank you …
Congratulations to both of you. You’re made of sterner stuff than most.
As well as refusing to ignore the ridiculous and unwarranted accusations, you’ve done us all an added favour in drawing everyone’s attention to the pernicious hyperbole that passes for adult journalism in this strange world.
I can only hope and pray that their pathetic recourse to appeal lasts a tad shorter than the legal saga in Bleak House…
As someone undergoing the appeals process (for PIP, not a legal case) since February 2023, you have my deepest sympathy. It’s incredibly draining, and the court appearances themselves are beyond arduous. I sincerely hope things go your way, and don’t ever feel bad for doing it. Too many people in life take the easy path and don’t bother voicing disagreement or fighting back. We need the ‘againsters’ like yourself, otherwise nothing would ever change.
Keep up the good fight, Malcolm. They need to be taught a lesson. My friend George Galloway won a similar fight, and made quite a packet in compensation doing so. Now they are terrified of him.
congratulations, dr. kendrick, on a fight well fought and won … you stood uo where many would have kept their mouths shut, and that must have taken a lot of courage …
Andrew Wakefield has been proved to have been right about autism and disruption of the gut biome according to this research paper;
Su, Q., Wong, O.W.H., Lu, W. et al.Multikingdom and functional gut microbiota markers for autism spectrum disorder. Nat Microbiol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-024-01739-1
Good on you both and thanks for the update, Malcolm. If we don’t stand for truth and win, there will come a time when we are all corralled into 1984.
I remember
Well done, Dr. Kendrick, for persevering to defend your work and your reputation. I can only guess how stressful the legal case has been to you and Zoë Harcombe, and your families. Your two books have given me the courage to keep refusing statins. Thank you.
Malcolm, I applaud you and Zoe taking a stand.Hats off ,to you both. Newspaper reports carry some weight in the public eye and sadly ,when they are wrong or libellous the apology if mandated at all will be in small font hidden in the middle of some unread section. Regards Graham P
From the parts of the judgment that I’ve read it seems that the Judge has been very careful in some areas which could be grounds for appeal. Hopefully he’s been sufficiently discrete that if there is an appeal it wouldn’t succeed or, better still that there isn’t one.
I think that is the case. There was much complexity around qualified privilege, and what evidence could and could not be used. Much of this around the Curizon judgement, which is too complicated to explain, even if I fully understood it. In short, could Matt Hancock’s statement be used by us, or not. As secretary of state for health, was his statement protected by qualified privilege. The judge said, no, for various reasons. But if there is an appeal, it will probably focus here.
I qualify my statement by making it clear I am not a lawyer and this is just what I think, based on what has happened up to this point. It is a game of chess, played by grandmasters.
Thank you for your courage in defence of the truth. I wish you much strength for the continuing battle. I admire you so very much.
<
div dir=”ltr”>Thankyou Dr Kendrick for your remote diagnosis. Having nearly reached the end of the judgement and still awake I think I will leave the rest unt
As a GP recently retired in Australia, I have followed Malcolm’s blog for years. My views are exactly the same as his, and I have tried to guide my patients on the same path.
Unfortunately, the situation here is just like UK, with organisations like the TGA, our regulatory board, which receives 90 per cent of its funding from Big Pharma.
We are constrained by AHPRA, the Australian Health Practitioners Regulatory Agency. This organisation was responsible for gagging orders throughout the covid stupidity, where doctors were threatened with suspension and worse if they spoke against the “safe and effective” narrative. This organisation has very few, if any, doctors on its books. Thus we are being told what to do by lawyers, pharmacists and other non-medically qualified people, usually to follow some non-ethical nonsense, which will only serve to increase profits for business.
I have just noticed MR’s comment.
If you would like to find a decent ethical GP, I would suggest you contact the Australian Medical Professionals society, who are doing an excellent job trying to hold government, Pharma and politicians to task, while also trying to spread the truth to the majority of Australians who just blindly believe the lies told, because they are told on the mainstream media.
Good luck Malcolm.
Amazing fortitude and sense of justice in the protection of the people by Malcolm setting a great example of what it nears to be a doctor.
Dear Dr Kendrick,
Thank you for all of the work that you have done over the years, especially about statins and the link (or otherwise) with CVD. I applaud you and Zoe for making this stand and I fully support you both in it.
Keep up all of your good work by being an alternative voice to the pharmaceutical industries paradigm.
Kind Regards
Stephen Durkin
Reverend Stephen Durkin
Mobile: 07505 559360
Best of luck to the both of you. Takes real guts.
It sounds another Ignaz Semmelweiss moment.
What is wrong with the medical world? Surely every Dr has had the humbling experience when they realise how little they know?
Why do some of the medical establishment believe they are the chosen few whose wisdom is not to be challenged?
The GMC should be paying your costs.. let alone watching you put your own personal head on the block.
Congratulations Malcolm. The world needs people like you. Critical thinks unite! Ron Logan
This is good to hear But as you say, the appeals from the defendants go on in an attempted attrition campaign… Is there a way for me to financially offer support to your ongoing legal battle by way of a one-off contribution? Regards Kirtikumar Krishnan
Just w
I wish you both the very best of luck with the appeal. Hopefully common sense will prevail, however common sense is not that common these days.
Being a fan of your work and having read all, or nearly all of your books, I frequently recommend them to my patients taking statins with generally good results. Your work combined with Dwain Graveline’s web site spacedoc.com have made a difference in getting people off this wretched medication. So a massive thank you from me and most of my stain patients.
John Hunt D.O
Osteopath
Good for you -hats off to you both & if you set up a Go Find Me account I’ll contribute – Sally
Thank-you, Malcolm and Zoe. You have stood against the bullies. It must have been so hard on you and your families. Hopefully the damage done by the statin-pushers will give way to the health that comes from eating and living the way you describe in your books.
Well Done Doc. You had thousands supp
orting you on this however I expect doctors are still handing statins out like smarties. I’ve seen people crippled and they refuse to believe the statins caused it because their “doctor” knows more. A sad situation.
Well done, congratulations, you deserved to win. Thank you for all your hard work and wise words. It is unlikely you will get the recognition you deserve but there will be thousands who, like me, are really grateful for what you do. Please keep up the pressure. Jane Young.
Huge courage, truth, and determination are the only qualities that count in a rigged game. You don’t win ‘their’ game – you prove honour.
You MUST take a stand!
I Wish you all the best and Hope you’ll win Dr Kendrick
Congratulations Malcolm and Zoe! I have copied the two halves of your judgements to my kindle to read slowly!
I do hope you will return to your usual informative discussion of medical topics.
You provide medical information that we can all trust. I found you in 2013 when I discovered that Simvastatin was causing so much trouble – particularly to my polio leg. Using your advice to completely drop the useless statins, I am still on the go and still reasonably active – though I am almost 75 now.
” Someone did say to me ‘At least you weren’t accused of being a paedophile.’ This did not go down well with me.”
I don’t think they meant that being a paedophile is the worst thing. They likely meant that you were probably fortunatethat such a charge was not made in addition to all the others. Usually character assassins accuse their targets, falsely of course, of every ridiculous thing under the sun.
Wonderful result Malcolm. It’s awesome that you and Zoe have taken the time (and expense) to pursue this. The world is a better place when decisions like this are made.
You saved thousands from the problems associated with taking statins, me included. Thank you
Malcolm
Any update?
As well as Dr Wakefield we now have Dr Samuel White, a good man who opposed Covid-19 constraints. Full details of the judgment are to follow. For me the BMC and MPTS are not fit for purpose in this dystopian and increasingly totalitarian world we are becoming.
https://www.mpts-uk.org/hearings-and-decisions/medical-practitioners-tribunals/dr-samuel-white–aug-24
I hope the Mail on Sunday will accept the decision in your favour.
Dr Sam White’s case seemed very unfortunate, reading from the outside. Earlier, Dr Sarah Myhill had been forced to cease practising as a doctor and had registered as a naturopath.
Dr David Cartland is also being tortured by the Spanish Inquisition, sorry ‘interviewed by the GMC’. The flawed procedure sounds like a show trial in the former Soviet Union. Who said Stalinism was dead?
Anyway, well done Dr Kendrick. The apology sounds a bit grudging given that they held out for five years. But I hope the damages will be good enough to compensate and fund some useful activity.
Please note change of email address
Thanks
Keep up the good work!
David
PS. Tony Edwards has just written a rather good book that might interest you entitled The very good news about wine
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Slightly off-topic but has anyone here information on the Covid virus undergoing drastic mutations, I assume due to the use of the novel ‘vaccines’? A few days ago, I came down with an infection (viral?) that I’d never experienced before. It lasted about three days and a friend had an identical experience, with exactly the same symptoms.
Briefly, it starts with a ‘scratchy’ throat, lots of coughing, a runny nose, lots of sneezing. On day two, feeling very, very ill, weakness, fuzzy head. At one point I felt so bad, I nearly went to A&E. Slept for hours. On day three, woke up feeling much better but still with runny nose and sneezing (double sneeze).
But no rise in temperature, no loss of smell, it didn’t migrate to my lungs, the symptoms seemed confined to my head/nose. I might add that I don’t get colds and the last time I noticed flu symptoms was in 1975. A workman who was fixing stuff in my kitchen, told me ‘it was doing the rounds’, so clearly my experience wasn’t an isolated one.
Well done Malcolm, it has been a battle royal for you, but it has been worth it to get such a result. Best wishes Martyn Harris
Just saw the results the trial. Hooray!! Best bit of news around the whole medical censorship story I’ve seen for ages.
Dr Ian Comaish
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Just seen the Mail’s apology (thanks to Right Said Fred). Congratulations to both of you.
Do I understand correctly that you have won and that the Daily Mail has backed down and apologised? I do hope their legal bills are big enough to sting a bit.
If so, warmest congratulations.
P.S. I’ve just looked at the RationalWiki entry on your partner in political incorrectness, Zoë Harcombe. What a peevish, snotty little piece of juvenilia it is. They should be ashamed of themselves. But that is not the way of the woke.
By God I’ve just looked at their piece on you. They are stinkers, aren’t they?
When I was a boy I used to walk around at school stopping bullying. I now wonder whether I was wrong. Maybe I interfered with well deserved beatings for the sort of twerps who write for RationalWiki and the Daily Mail.
Congratulations on your victory in court! “They are happy to apologize”.
Congratulations both, a weight off your mind I’m sure
Congratulations! I hope “substantial” means an amount that will hurt the Daily Mail.
Posted at midnight Saturday, and updated at 1:14am Sunday for minimal impact. They never stop. I’ve printed a copy in case they scrub it.
Now that you’ve received your “apology” and your damages are hopefully on the way, does that mean we can start to look forward to new blog posts from you Malcolm? I hope you are well after the stresses of the last few years. Congratulations on the win!
We’ve missed you, but you had an even more important mission on your hands. The continuing blind trust most people put in the medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry, together with the hostility towards anyone who raises the slightest doubt or criticism of this unholy alliance needs countering at every opportunity. You have, indeed, fought the good fight. Well done.