Search for Coventry women in 1960s radioactive chapatis study

Radioactive isotopes were used in chapatis fed to South Asian women in Coventry in the 1960s

Researchers are looking for South Asian women who were fed radioactive chapatis in the 1960s as part of a study looking at iron absorption.

Taiwo Owatemi MP said she was "deeply concerned" about the study in Coventry funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC).

"It seems that consent was not sought nor proper information given to women at the time they took part," she said.

A MRC spokesperson said an independent inquiry had examined questions raised.

The independent report, published in 1998, found research practice, ethics and regulation had "moved on significantly" and had "directly resulted" in new guidance, the MRC said.

The inquiry report was commissioned in response to a documentary on Channel 4 in 1995 which raised concerns about participants, including pregnant women, being able to consent to the experiments.

'Widespread anaemia'

It was reported in 1995 that about 21 women were involved in the experiment after seeking medical help from a city GP for minor ailments.

The study was carried out due to concerns of widespread anaemia among Asian women and researchers suspected traditional South Asian diets were to blame.

Chapatis containing Iron-59 - an iron isotope with a gamma-beta emitter - were delivered to participants' homes.

They would later be invited to a research facility in Oxfordshire to have their radiation levels assessed.

It was reported that the MRC said the study proved that "Asian women should take extra iron because the iron in the flour was insoluble".

MP Taiwo Owatemi said she was "deeply concerned" about the effects of the MRC-funded study

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ms Owatemi, MP for Coventry North West, said there continued to be "deep worry" among the South Asian community in the city.

She said a University of Warwick researcher was now seeking to identify women affected, adding she was "deeply disturbed" they may have been targeted for research in 1969, "without being able to give informed consent".

"I will be calling for a debate on this as soon as possible after Parliament returns in September," she said, adding it had seemed "no follow up morbidity study" had been performed to look at the long-term medical effects.

Ms Owatemi added it would be followed by a full statutory inquiry into why the recommendation of the MRC report to identify the women affected "was never followed up".

In a statement posted online on Wednesday, the MRC said it remained committed to the highest standards, including "commitment to engagement, openness and transparency".

"The issues were considered following the broadcast of the documentary in 1995 and an independent inquiry was established at that time to examine the questions raised," they added.