Volume 11: Scientists after Southwood
2. The Tyrrell Consultative Committee
The establishment of the Tyrrell Consultative Committee
Appointment of the chairman
Appointment of the other Committee members

2.1 The establishment of the Consultative Committee on Research ('the Tyrrell Committee') was publicly announced by way of a press release on 17 February 1989. ¹ However, its genesis was a Southwood Working Party recommendation made eight months earlier. ² During its first meeting on 20 June 1988, the Southwood Working Party agreed 'that an expert Working Party on Research should be established - possibly jointly between the MRC [Medical Research Council] and AFRC [Agriculture and Food Research Council] - to advise on research in hand and that which is required, to answer the questions identified by the BSE Working Party'. This recommendation was conveyed the next day by letter from Sir Richard Southwood to Mr Derek Andrews, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), and Sir Donald Acheson, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the Department of Health (DH). ³

2.2 After receiving Sir Richard Southwood's letter, Sir Donald discussed its implications with Mr Andrews. Sir Donald said he might copy the letter to the Secretary of the MRC. He would suggest that the MRC Secretary meet with his AFRC colleagues to draw up some research and development proposals. Mr Andrews pointed out that MAFF was heavily involved in animal research and development, and that BSE research would not be a matter for the MRC and AFRC alone. ⁴

2.3 On 29 June 1988, Sir Donald advised Mr Kenneth Clarke, the Secretary of State for Health that 'Sir Richard Southwood's committee also recommends that an urgent review of research in this field is undertaken jointly by MRC and AFRC'. Sir Donald recommended that this advice be followed. ⁵

2.4 Meanwhile, after the receipt of Sir Richard Southwood's recommendation, the following steps were taken by MAFF:

• on 7 July 1988 the Animal Health Division drafted a submission to the Minister, stating that MAFF should play a leading role in the proposed working group, given its major stake in BSE research work, and should put forward a bid for chairmanship of the working party; ⁶
• on the same day Mr Keith Meldrum, ⁷ Mr Alistair Cruickshank ⁸ and Dr William Watson ⁹ met Mr Donald Thompson MP ¹⁰ to discuss BSE research projects. Mr Thompson said that MAFF should take the lead on BSE research and development, and that the proposed working party should report to MAFF. Mr Meldrum informed Mr Thompson that Dr Watson of the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) was MAFF officials' preferred choice to chair the new working party; ¹¹
• Mr Andrews reiterated these views to Sir Donald Acheson the next day, stating that it might make sense for the Director of the CVL to chair the group; ¹² and
• on 12 July 1988, Mr Andrews wrote to Sir Richard Southwood to say that he and Sir Donald Acheson agreed that a new body to coordinate research on BSE could be set up. Mr Andrews said that he wanted MAFF to play a leading part, and that he himself and Sir Donald were in touch about the detailed arrangements. ¹³

Appointment of the chairman

2.5 To help make quick and efficient progress in solving outstanding research issues, Sir Donald Acheson favoured the appointment of a distinguished microbiologist of international reputation as chairman. On 21 July he suggested Sir Michael Stoker and Dr David Tyrrell as candidates to Mr Andrews (and later to Sir Richard Southwood ¹⁴), and commented that:

With people of this quality, if and when the unfortunate time comes where a human health hazard becomes painfully evident, we will all be able to justify what we have done in that we will have obtained advice at the very highest possible level. ¹⁵

2.6 Sir Richard Southwood favoured Sir Michael Stoker, a virologist, as chairman, ¹⁶ which prompted Sir Donald Acheson's subsequent suggestion to Mr Andrews that Sir Michael be invited to chair the new group. ¹⁷ However, Mr Andrews was not persuaded that a microbiologist was the best option since much of the BSE research would focus on animals, and MAFF would have to provide the bulk of funding. He therefore preferred as chairperson 'someone with a veterinary background who has experience of research in this area'. Mr Andrews now suggested Dr William Martin, a member of the Southwood Working Party and former Director of the Moredun Institute, as 'a name on which we could all agree'. ¹⁸ Sir Donald later noted this suggestion but suspected Sir Richard Southwood would feel it best to have a chairperson with a microbiological background. ¹⁹

2.7 The issue was still unresolved on 6 October 1988, when a meeting of senior MAFF staff determined that Dr Martin, who had overseen much work on scrapie, was MAFF's preferred chairman. Professor Peter Biggs, recently retired Director of the Institute for Animal Health and 'another vet of international reputation', was their second choice. If neither of them was appointed chairman, then one of them should at least be a member of the Committee. ²⁰

2.8 The matter was decided towards the end of October. In the light of Sir Richard Southwood's view that a virologist should be appointed to chair the Committee, in order to help secure public confidence in it, and of Sir Donald Acheson's opinions, Mr Andrews concluded that MAFF would not succeed in having a veterinarian appointed as chairperson. Sir Richard and Mr Andrews agreed that since Sir Michael Stoker was no longer as active as he used to be, Dr David Tyrrell, Director of the MRC Common Cold Unit, or Professor Anthony Epstein, a distinguished virologist and member of the Southwood Working Party, were viable options. Mr Andrews agreed to the appointment of Dr Tyrrell. ²¹

2.9 On 3 November Mr Andrews confirmed that MAFF and its Ministers had agreed to the appointment, and suggested that Sir Donald formally approach Dr Tyrrell. ²² Sir Donald did so on 23 November, ²³ and Dr Tyrrell accepted the invitation to be chairman on 29 November 1988. ²⁴

Appointment of the other Committee members

2.10 Sir Richard Southwood had told Mr Andrews on 19 July 1988 that it was important a 'small and very expert group of those involved in the subject' make up the Committee. This would help ensure the maximum coordination of the research, and that the appropriate research was carried out to answer the questions raised by his own Working Party. ²⁵

2.11 The meeting of senior MAFF staff on 6 October (see paragraph 2.7 above) decided that the Committee should have four members in addition to the chair, including two medics chosen by Sir Donald Acheson and Sir Richard Southwood, and two vets chosen by MAFF. ²⁶ Sir Donald and Sir Richard subsequently agreed to this. ²⁷

2.12 By 3 November 1988 MAFF had decided Dr Watson of the CVL was a definite candidate, and they were 'inclined to suggest' Professor John Bourne, Director of the Institute for Animal Health (IAH), as their other veterinary member. When Mr Andrews so informed Sir Donald Acheson, he suggested Dr Richard Kimberlin of the Neuropathogenesis Unit would be suitable as a fifth member because, though being neither a medic nor a vet, he would 'bring an independent view to bear'. ²⁸ Dr Kimberlin was subsequently appointed to the Committee and, upon Sir Donald's recommendation, Dr Robert Will (a neurologist) filled the vacant DH post - the other having been taken by Dr Tyrrell.

2.13 Sir Donald and Mr Andrews acknowledged that the MRC and AFRC might wish to have input into the work of the Committee. ²⁹ Further, at a meeting with MAFF officials and Ministers in late November 1988, Sir Richard asked for AFRC and MRC involvement in the Committee, to help ensure it had a full picture of all work in progress. ³⁰ Dr Katherine Levy was subsequently appointed as MRC observer, and attended the Committee's meetings. ³¹ Although an AFRC observer was not officially appointed, Professor Bourne, as Director of the IAH, was in a position to liaise between the Committee and the AFRC because the IAH was an institute within the Research Council. Moreover, according to Dr Tyrrell, on occasions the Committee 'had a representative' from the AFRC. ³²

2.14 The full committee membership was therefore as follows:

• Dr David Tyrrell - Director of the MRC Common Cold Unit (Chairman);
• Dr William Watson - Director of the Central Veterinary Laboratory, MAFF;
• Professor John Bourne - Director of the Institute for Animal Health;
• Dr Robert Will - Consultant Neurologist at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh;
• Dr Richard Kimberlin - ex-Director of the Neuropathogenesis Unit (NPU), Edinburgh, and Head of the Scrapie and Related Diseases Advisory Service (SARDAS), an independent consultancy advising on all transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), but mainly BSE.