Cancer researchers fleeing Donald Trump’s “anti-science agenda” in the US should be welcomed to Britain under a dedicated fellowship scheme, the leader of the Liberal Democrats is expected to say.
Sir Ed Davey will call for special discounted visas for doctors as part of a plan to make cancer a “top priority” for the NHS.
At his party’s conference in Bournemouth this week, he has already attacked the policies and rhetoric of Reform leader Nigel Farage and billionaire tech boss Elon Musk.
He will turn his attention to US President Donald Trump in his keynote speech on the final day of the conference on Tuesday.
Sir Ed is expected describe “what’s happening on the other side of the Atlantic” as the “biggest threat to the fight against cancer”.
“The United States is by far the world’s biggest funder of cancer research – mostly through its National Cancer Institute,” he will add.
“But since Donald Trump returned to the White House, he has cancelled hundreds of grants for cancer research projects.”
It comes as the Trump administration unveiled highly disputed conclusions about the causes of autism in children, alongside a push for research to find a possible “cure” for the condition.
The President announced on Monday that pregnant women should limit their use of painkiller acetaminophen, named paracetamol in the UK, which he claimed heightens the risk of autism in children.
The conclusion follows months of investigations led by the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and the results have been highly contested by scientists internationally and contradicted by studies.
Sir Ed will also criticise Reform’s conference earlier this month, where attendees “enthusiastically applauded” cutting off “research into medicine”.
The UK should “step up and say: if Trump won’t back this research, we will”, Sir Ed will add.
His party would pledge to build a national cancer research centre, and pass a cancer survival research Act to this end.
In a message to the scientists in America who have had their research halted, he will say: “Come here, and finish it in the UK. We’ll set up a dedicated fellowship scheme for you, and we won’t let extortionate Home Office fees stand in your way.”
The speech is also expected to contain continued attacks on Tesla chief Mr Musk, according to the Lib Dems.
Sir Ed said he is not worried that the billionaire could sue after he branded him a “criminal”.
The Lib Dems’ chief executive has reportedly been meeting with lawyers pre-emptively over Sir Ed’s comments.
“If he … sues me, let’s see how he fares, because I don’t think he’ll win,” he told Sky News.
In an interview with the BBC, Sir Ed got into a row with political editor Chris Mason over its coverage of Reform UK.
The Lib Dem leader had accused the public broadcaster of having given Reform less scrutiny than other political parties, going as far as to claim it had “copy-and-pasted” their press releases in online articles.
Pressed by the BBC that this attack on the media was Trumpian, Sir Ed replied: “No, I don’t think we are.”
