In response to reports about the eminent scientist Richard Doll, who first demonstrated the link between cancer and smoking, scientists have weighed in with their support. The letter below is signed by: -- Professor Colin Blakemore, Chief Executive, Medical Research Council -- Dr Mark Walport, Director, Wellcome Trust -- Lord Martin Rees, President, Royal Society -- Professor John Bell, President, Academy of Medical Science -- Professor Alex Markham, Chief Executive, Cancer Research UK "Sir Richard Doll was one of the world's greatest cancer researchers. To this day and in the years to come, many tens of millions of people, in the developing as well as the developed world, will owe their lives and health to his studies. Sir Richard died last year at the age of 92. It is with dismay that we now hear allegations against him that he cannot rebut for himself. We feel it is our duty to defend Sir Richard's reputation and to recognise his extraordinary contribution to global health, which began in 1950 with his first paper demonstrating a link between smoking and lung cancer. He played a key role in the development of randomised controlled clinical trials - now the standard method by which new treatments are evaluated. He also helped identify several occupational hazards most notably asbestos and assess reliably the dangers of radiation. Sir Richard willingly made his expert advice available to industry and to government. The personal papers that he generously donated to the Wellcome Library included correspondence with commercial and other organisations. On the basis of those papers, it has recently been suggested that Sir Richard's advice to industry somehow compromised his own publications. We know of no evidence to support this allegation. Sir Richard was open about these consultancies and felt it appropriate that companies should seek expert advice on the safety of their products. It was in the character of this remarkable man that he donated private income to charities and to Green College in Oxford, which he helped to found in 1979 to enhance academic research in the medical sciences. Sir Richard's changed the way scientists think about the causes of disease and the methods they use to investigate these. He identified some of the major threats to human health and, in doing so, saved countless lives. He should be remembered with fondness, respect and gratitude.

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