Prime Minister backs quest for MND cure

3.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 1st Nov 2006

During Prime Minister's Questions, Lembit Öpik, MP for Montgomeryshire, today thanked the Prime Minister for his support for the Motor Neurone Disease Association's search for a cure to this terminal disease.

Commenting afterwards, Lembit, who is President of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, said:

"Ever since the death of my father from this terrible disease, I have been campaigning for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

"The Prime Minister has shown tremendous support for our campaign, and has agreed to help launch the Research Foundation. I thank him wholeheartedly.

"His continued support will unquestionably help the association raise the £15 million needed for a research foundation to find a cure for this fatal illness. I believe that Mr Blair's contribution towards this goal stands to become a significant and hugely positive part of his legacy as Prime Minister."

Dr Kirstine Knox, Chief Executive of the MND Association, said:

"The continuing support of the Prime Minister is crucial to helping us achieve our target of £15 million for research to end Motor Neurone Disease

"We are also incredibly grateful to Lembit for raising the profile of MND in Parliament and securing Mr Blair's backing for the Research Foundation"

Ends / Diwedd

Notes:

• Lembit Öpik became president of the Motor Neurone Disease Association on 16th September 2006, following the death of his father from Motor Neurone Disease.

• The Motor Neurone Disease Association launches its Research Foundation on 1st November 2006 in Strangers Dining Room, House of Commons between 4-6pm

• For more information about Motor Neurone Disease, visit http://www.mndassociation.org/

• The Hansard transcript of Prime Minister's Questions, 1st November 2006 reads as follows:

Q4. [98428] Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire) (LD): "I sincerely thank the Prime Minister for his considerable support for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and its quest to cure that debilitating, and sadly invariably fatal, disease. Is he aware of the continuing negotiations with the Department of Health on matched funding towards our £15 million research target? Will he join me in inviting colleagues to spend a few minutes at the launch of the MNDA's research foundation in Strangers Dining Room today between 4 o'clock and 6 o'clock to advance our vision of a world free of MND?"

The Prime Minister: "I look forward to meeting the chief executive of the MNDA foundation shortly. The Minister of State, Department of Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham), will attend the reception, and I hope that as many other hon. Members attend as possible. We are not yet at the stage of being able to respond to specific proposals from the foundation, but we will do so when we get them.

"I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on the work that he is doing on behalf of the foundation. MND is a very serious condition. The people who campaign on it are often incredibly brave and committed people who, unfortunately, know that they will die as a result of having the disease, and we would like to support them in any way we can."