"Jodrell Bank must not be forgotten" - John Leech MP
March 13, 2008 12:00 AM
The Lovell Telescope has recently received £8 million in investment, which will go to waste if the annual funding is cut
MP for Manchester Withington, John Leech, has hit out at reports that the Science and Technology Funding Council (STFC) will cut its annual £2.5 million funding for Jodrell Bank's leading participation in the eMerlin project.
The cut is a consequence to the government removing £80 million from its scientific programme.
Furthermore, £8 million has just been spent on upgrading the Lovell Telescope to fulfil its roll in Merlin and that money will be wasted if the cut goes ahead.
John Leech MP said:
"A cut of this significance will threaten the future of one of the world's most advanced observatories. The Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank is Britain's equivalent of Hubble, and attracts visitors all over the world to its base in Cheshire."
"In the year when we are celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Lovell Telescope and its achievements to date, we should be looking forward to a future of scientific advancements - not consigning it to the museum."
END
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