Sour grapes

Health groups dismayed by news 'big tobacco' funded rightwing thinktanks:

"At the current time, with a centre-right government, thinktanks which represent the libertarian right wing like the IEA and ASI are crucial players in the development of public policy," said Deborah Arnott, chief executive of smoking-related health charity Ash.

"The government needs to take note that tobacco industry funding of such organisations completely undermines the credibility of their opposition to standard packaging," she added. "For the government to allow its policies to be influenced by tobacco-funded think-tanks would be a breach of its legal obligations under the WHO tobacco treaty."

Whereas the fact that over recent years "the centre-right government" has directly or indirectly handed up to 20 times as much each year and more to its unacknowledged "agencies" such as ASH [£220,000 in 2010/2011 and £150,000 in 2011/2012] and in the process paid Deborah's salary is not something we should question or discuss.