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41-514: The College of Medicine ( CoM ) is a United Kingdom-based organisation founded in October 2010 that grew out of The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health after it was shut down due to accounting fraud. It is chaired by Michael Dixon , a former director of the Foundation. It promotes alternative medicine . Former director George Lewith was a council member of the Foundation - his research unit at

82-465: A catalyst. The outrage over the initial ruling brought together several groups to support Singh and acted as a focus for libel reform campaigners, resulting in all major parties in the 2010 general election making manifesto commitments to libel reform. On 25 April 2013 the Defamation Act 2013 received Royal Assent and became law. The purpose of the reformed law of defamation is to 'ensure that

123-415: A fair balance is struck between the right to freedom of expression and the protection of reputation'. Under the new law, claimants must show that they suffer serious harm before the court will accept the case. Additional protection for website operators, defence of 'responsible publication on matters of public interest' and new statutory defences of truth and honest opinion are also part of the key areas of

164-484: A footballer then a commentator. If I couldn't be a physicist, I'd write about it. In October 2004, Singh published a book entitled Big Bang , which tells the history of the universe. It is told in his trademark style, by following the remarkable stories of the people who put the pieces together. He made headlines in 2005 when he criticised the Katie Melua song " Nine Million Bicycles " for inaccurate lyrics referring to

205-659: A speech to an audience of health ministers from various countries at the World Health Assembly in Geneva , urging them to develop a plan for integrating conventional and alternative medicine. In April 2008, The Times published a letter from Professor Edzard Ernst that asked the Prince's Foundation to recall two guides promoting "alternative medicine", saying: "the majority of alternative therapies appear to be clinically ineffective, and many are downright dangerous." A speaker for

246-464: Is currently continuing to fund the CNHC but future funding will be dependent on substantial progress being made towards the target (which has now been reduced to 2,000). Alternative medicine campaigners argued that the move toward regulation conferred undue respectability on unproven and possibly unsafe complementary & alternative medicine (CAM) approaches. FIH also worked with medical schools to increase

287-593: The Good Thinking Society , through which he created the website "Parallel" to help students learn mathematics. Singh has also produced documentaries and works for television to accompany his books, is a trustee of the National Museum of Science and Industry , a patron of Humanists UK , founder of the Good Thinking Society , and co-founder of the Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme . Singh

328-466: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) shortly before they relaxed the rules governing labelling of herbal products such as the ones sold by his duchy, a move that has been widely condemned by scientists and medical bodies. On 31 October 2009 it was reported that the Prince had personally lobbied Health Secretary Andy Burnham regarding greater provision of alternative treatments on

369-667: The Royal College of Science Union. Later he completed a PhD in particle physics at the University of Cambridge as a postgraduate student of Emmanuel College, Cambridge while working at CERN , Geneva. In 1983, he was part of the UA2 experiment in CERN . In 1987, Singh taught science at The Doon School , an independent all-boys' boarding school in India. In 1990 Singh returned to England and joined

410-552: The BBC Horizon series. It was also aired in America as part of the NOVA series . The Proof , as it was re-titled, was nominated for an Emmy Award . The story of this celebrated mathematical problem was also the subject of Singh's first book, Fermat's Last Theorem . In 1997, he began working on his second book, The Code Book , a history of codes and codebreaking . As well as explaining

451-522: The BBC's Science and Features Department, where he was a producer and director working on programmes such as Tomorrow's World and Horizon . Singh was introduced to Richard Wiseman through their collaboration on Tomorrow's World . At Wiseman's suggestion, Singh directed a segment about politicians lying in different mediums, and getting the public's opinion on whether the person was lying or not. After attending some of Wiseman's lectures, Singh came up with

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492-511: The NHS. In March 2010, the political organisation Republic , which campaigns for an elected head of state, registered a complaint with the Charity Commission for England and Wales over a possible breach of charity regulations, suggesting that the foundation's staff had pursued a public vendetta against Ernst . In 2010, following accounting irregularities noted by the foundation's auditor, it

533-504: The Prince's support; explicitly describing its mission as "to take forward the vision of HRH the Prince of Wales". These claims have been contested by the college. Simon Singh Simon Lehna Singh , MBE (born 19 September 1964) is a British popular science author, theoretical and particle physicist. His written works include Fermat's Last Theorem (in the United States titled Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve

574-625: The University of Southampton played an important role in the development of the foundation. When the College of Medicine was launched, several commentators writing in the Guardian and the BMJ , expressed the opinion that the new organisation was simply a re-branding of the Prince's Foundation , some describing it as "Hamlet without the Prince". The Prince%27s Foundation for Integrated Health The charity

615-516: The Wellcome online catalogue. The Prince of Wales has demonstrated an interest in alternative medicine , the promotion of which has occasionally resulted in controversy. In 2004, the foundation divided the scientific and medical community over its campaign encouraging general practitioners to offer herbal and other alternative treatments to National Health Service patients, and in May 2006, The Prince made

656-586: The World's Greatest Mathematical Problem ), The Code Book (about cryptography and its history ), Big Bang (about the Big Bang theory and the origins of the universe), Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial (about complementary and alternative medicine, co-written by Edzard Ernst ) and The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets (about mathematical ideas and theorems hidden in episodes of The Simpsons and Futurama ). In 2012 Singh founded

697-466: The case had gathered wide support for Singh, as well as prompting calls for the reform of English libel laws. On 1 April 2010, Simon Singh won his court appeal for the right to rely on the defence of fair comment. On 15 April 2010, the BCA officially withdrew its lawsuit, ending the case. To defend himself for the libel suit, Singh's out-of-pocket legal costs were tens of thousands of pounds. The trial acted as

738-509: The case was brought against him, The Guardian supported him and funded his legal advice, as well as offering to pay the BCA's legal costs in an out-of-court settlement if Singh chose to settle. A "furious backlash " to the lawsuit resulted in the filing of formal complaints of false advertising against more than 500 individual chiropractors within one 24-hour period, with one national chiropractic organisation ordering its members to take down their websites, and Nature Medicine noting that

779-566: The course of the First World War . Other programmes discuss how two great 19th-century geniuses raced to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs and how modern encryption can guarantee privacy on the Internet. On his activities as author he said in an interview to Imperial College London : When I finished my PhD, I knew I wasn't exceptionally good and would never get the Nobel prize. As a kid, I wanted to be

820-596: The foundation countered the criticism by stating: "We entirely reject the accusation that our online publication Complementary Healthcare: A Guide contains any misleading or inaccurate claims about the benefits of complementary therapies. On the contrary, it treats people as adults and takes a responsible approach by encouraging people to look at reliable sources of information... so that they can make informed decisions. The foundation does not promote complementary therapies." In June 2008 Ernst and science writer Simon Singh book Trick or Treatment: Alternative Medicine on Trial

861-485: The idea to create a show together, and Theatre of Science was born. It was a way to deliver science to normal people in an entertaining manner. Richard Wiseman has influenced Singh in such a way that Singh states: My writing initially was about pure science but a lot of my research now has been inspired by his desire to debunk things such as the paranormal – we both hate psychics, mediums, pseudoscience in general. Singh directed his BAFTA award-winning documentary about

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902-697: The inaugural recipient of the Lilavati Award . In February 2011 he was elected as a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry . On 19 April 2008, The Guardian published Singh's column "Beware the Spinal Trap", an article that was critical of the practice of chiropractic and which resulted in Singh being sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA). The article developed

943-417: The more moderate chiropractors have ideas above their station. The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying, even though there is not a jot of evidence. This organisation is the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes bogus treatments. When

984-425: The opinion that the new organisation is simply a re-branding of the Prince's Foundation, describing it as "Hamlet without the Prince". In support of this connection with the then Prince, alternative medicine critic and pharmacologist David Colquhoun has argued that the college (originally called "The College of Integrated Health") is extremely well-funded and seemed from the beginning to be very confident of

1025-521: The prince in 2005. Ernst said he was found not guilty, but that "all local support at Exeter stopped, which eventually led to my early retirement." Between 2005 and 2007 the charity's annual turnover was about £1.2 million. In 2007 it received significant funding from The Prince's Charities Foundation , and a £300,000 grant from the Department of Health for the regulation of complementary medicine . The Prince personally wrote at least seven letters to

1066-544: The promotion of science, engineering and mathematics in schools and in the building of links between universities and schools". This was followed up by his receipt of the Kelvin Medal from the Institute of Physics in 2008, for his achievements in promoting Physics to the general public. In July 2008, he was also awarded a degree of Doctor of Science ( Honoris Causa ) by Royal Holloway, University of London . In July 2011, he

1107-521: The representative bodies of many complementary professions to talk and agree standards. The result was the formation of the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) which had hoped to register 10,000 practitioners of complementary medicine by the end of 2009 but which by September 2009 had succeeded in enrolling less than a tenth of that number due to lack of interest on the part of some of their professional associations. The Department of Health

1148-442: The science of codes and describing the impact of cryptography on history, the book also contends that cryptography is more important today than ever before. The Code Book has resulted in a return to television for him. He presented The Science of Secrecy , a five-part series for Channel 4. The stories in the series range from the cipher that sealed the fate of Mary, Queen of Scots , to the coded Zimmermann Telegram that changed

1189-446: The size of the observable universe . Singh proposed corrected lyrics, though he used the value of 13.7 billion light years; accounting for expansion of the universe, the comoving distance to the edge of the observable universe is 46.5 billion light years. BBC Radio 4 's Today programme brought Melua and Singh together in a radio studio where Melua recorded a tongue-in-cheek version of the song that had been written by Singh. Singh

1230-466: The theme of the book that Singh and Edzard Ernst had published, Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial , and made various statements about the lack of usefulness of chiropractic "for such problems as ear infections and infant colic ": You might think that modern chiropractors restrict themselves to treating back problems, but in fact they still possess some quite wacky ideas. The fundamentalists argue that they can cure anything. And even

1271-458: The understanding of complementary approaches amongst new doctors and ran an annual awards ceremony for integrated health schemes both within the medical world and in the community. The papers of the Foundation for Integrated Health are held at the Wellcome Library , Archives and Manuscripts, and are available for consultation by appointment. Further details about the collection can be found on

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1312-455: The world's most notorious mathematical problem entitled Fermat's Last Theorem in 1996. The film was memorable for its opening shot of a middle-aged mathematician, Andrew Wiles , holding back tears as he recalled the moment when he finally realised how to resolve the fundamental error in his proof of Fermat's Last Theorem . The documentary was originally transmitted in January 1996 as an edition of

1353-458: Was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) by Loughborough University , and in 2005 was given an honorary degree in mathematics by the University of Southampton . In 2006, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Design degree by the University of the West of England "in recognition of Simon Singh's outstanding contribution to the public understanding of science, in particular in

1394-689: Was awarded another degree of Doctor of Science ( Honoris Causa ) by the University of Kent at Canterbury for services to Science. In June 2012, Singh was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science ( honoris causa ) for his contribution to science communication, education and academic freedom by The University of St Andrews . In 2003, Singh was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to science, technology and engineering in education and science communication. In 2010 he became

1435-524: Was born in a Sikh family to parents who emigrated from Punjab, India to Britain in 1950. He is the youngest of three brothers, his eldest brother being Tom Singh , the founder of the UK New Look chain of stores. Singh grew up in Wellington, Somerset , attending Wellington School , and went on to Imperial College London , where he studied physics . He was active in the student union, becoming President of

1476-474: Was convicted of theft totalling £253,000 and sentenced to three years in prison. Following the disbanding of the Prince's Foundation, many of the individuals and organisations involved launched a new organisation in late 2010 called The College of Medicine , with which the Prince of Wales was not overtly involved. Several commentators writing in The Guardian and The British Medical Journal , have expressed

1517-607: Was established in 1993 to explore "how safe, proven complementary therapies can work in conjunction with mainstream medicine". Michael Dixon was appointed the foundation's medical director. From 2005 to 2007, FIH received a grant from the Department of Health to help organise the self-regulation of complementary therapies. There had been concern that with a large proportion of the public turning to complementary approaches, there were few safeguards in place to ensure that non-statutorily regulated therapists were safe, trained and would act in an appropriate way. FIH worked to bring together

1558-482: Was misleading. In Ernst's book More Good Than Harm? The Moral Maze of Complementary and Alternative Medicine he and ethicist Kevin Smith call Charles "foolish and immoral" and state that "it is not possible to practice alternative medicine ethically". Ernst said the Prince's private secretary contacted the vice chancellor of Exeter University to investigate Ernst's complaints against the "Smallwood Report", commissioned by

1599-748: Was part of an investigation about homeopathy in 2006. This investigation was made by the organization Sense about Science . In the investigation, a student asked ten homeopaths for an alternative to her preventive malaria medication. All ten homeopaths recommended homeopathy as a substitute. This investigation was reported by the BBC . Singh is a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering . Singh has been involved in television and radio programmes, including Five Numbers (BBC Radio 4, 11 March 2002 to 20 September 2005). In 2003 Singh

1640-634: Was published. It is ironically dedicated to "HRH the Prince of Wales" and the last chapter is highly critical of his advocacy of "complementary" and "alternative" treatments. The Prince's Duchy Originals have produced a variety of CAM products including a “Detox Tincture” that Ernst has denounced as "financially exploiting the vulnerable" and "outright quackery ". In May 2009, the Advertising Standards Authority criticised an email that Duchy Originals had sent out to advertise its Echina-Relief, Hyperi-Lift and Detox Tinctures products saying it

1681-530: Was reported that the Metropolitan Police Economic and Specialist Crime Command had begun an inquiry into alleged fraud. Within weeks, two former officials at the Prince's Foundation were arrested for fraud believed to total £300,000. Four days later, on 30 April 2010, the foundation announced that it would close. The foundation stated that its closure was the result of the fraud allegations. The charity's finance director, accountant George Gray,

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