Ethics of Biobank challenged by group

The decision to fund the UK Biobank - the world's largest study of the interaction of genes, environment and health - has been dismissed as premature by a research pressure group.

The Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council and Department of Health are providing an initial £45 million for the project, which will explore the complex nature-nurture debate.

The study will use DNA samples and medical records from 500,000 volunteers aged between 45 and 69 and is expected to become a powerful tool in utilising the data recovered by the Human Genome Project.

But Human Genetics Alert insists that the ethical foundations of the study have not yet been finalised. David King, HGA coordinator, said there had been no public consultation or parliamentary debate on the project.

"Unless the ethics are sorted out before the study is agreed, they are building a house of cards. They seem to think that ethics is just window dressing," he said.

HGA said there were no guidelines to prevent, for example, work on behavioural genetics and other non-disease characteristics, or protocols to direct how industry might benefit from the facility.

Biobank will set up an independent committee to ensure material and data are used responsibly and within the terms of the consent obtained from volunteers. There will be continuous consultation.

The MRC said the information and samples would be held in public ownership for public benefit.