Robert Winston

Robert Winston

"To most people Lord Winston is the avuncular and authoritative face of TV science. But as a scientist with a highly distinguished pedigree, he has not been afraid to offend with his plain speaking. The peer has been highly critical of some fertility doctors and has lambasted the government's fertility watchdog, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, at every opportunity.

Most recently he picked a fight with the forthright atheist wing of science, particularly the evolutionist Richard Dawkins. On Wednesday, Lord Winston gave a lecture at Dundee University entitled The Science Delusion - a mischievous spin on Professor Dawkins's book The God Delusion. In the talk, he described the famous evolutionist's approach to the debate on science and religion as insulting and patronising. An orthodox Jew, Lord Winston also claimed the atheists' approach risked damaging science in the eyes of the public."

"Prof Winston, who was made a life peer in 1995, regularly speaks on education, science, medicine and the arts in the House of Lords. He is a board member and vice-chairman of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology.

"A lifelong fan of the theatre, Professor Winston spent several years directing plays as a young man. He is now on the board of the Lyric Theatre, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a member of The Athenaeum." (New Statesman Interview)


 * Trustee, UK Stem Cell Foundation]