Kevin Sinfield: Rugby star welcomes 'fast-tracked' £50m MND cash

Kevin Sinfield (right) has raised money for MND research since 2019, when his former Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow (left) was diagnosed with the disease

Rugby legend Kevin Sinfield has welcomed the announcement that £50m of funding for motor neurone disease (MND) research is to be "fast-tracked".

Sinfield has been raising money for MND causes since ex-Leeds Rhinos teammate Rob Burrow was diagnosed in 2019.

In November 2021 the government said it would put at least £50m over five years into finding a cure.

However, the MND Association had said none of the money had been so far released to researchers.

Sinfield, who recently raised £1.5m for MND charities by completing seven ultra marathons in seven days, had previously questioned why scientists could not access the funding.

A letter calling for a £50m investment in research, signed by hundreds of people with MND, was handed in at Downing Street in November 2021

Now Health Secretary Steve Barclay has said he will "slash red tape" to provide the funding to biomedical research centres.

"Like everyone else, I welcome this development and hope it is the start of further progress in the years ahead," Sinfield said.

"The funding of vital research gives the MND community hope for the future and I know every penny will be spent wisely in the search for a cure to this cruel disease," he added.

Mr Barclay said he was determined to help "accelerate research to find a cure and develop innovative treatments".

"I'm grateful to the United to End MND campaign for their work raising awareness and I warmly congratulate Kevin Sinfield on his epic achievement completing seven ultra marathons," the health secretary added.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: "We've already invested millions to improve treatments and our understanding of this condition, but there's more we can do"

The United to End MND campaign, which includes the MND Association, MND Scotland and LifeArc, also welcomed the funding, but said it fell short of creating a national research institute that it has been campaigning for.

A spokeswoman said the organisation was "pleased" Mr Barclay had listened to the MND community and outlined how the "long-awaited" investment in MND research funding pledged by the government would be made available to researchers.