Phones 4U tycoon to fund illness research

MOBILE PHONE entrepreneur John Caudwell has pledged his own money in a bid to spark a Government-funded programme into Lyme disease research.

Phones 4u founder Mr Caudwell has offered “significant funds” to the Department of Health if it commissions “desperately needed” work into the “terribly debilitating illness”.

He made the promise in a letter to Jeremy Hunt today in a bid to spur the Health Secretary into action.

Mr Caudwell, who has been diagnosed with Lyme disease, has not put a figure on how much he will spend, but says he is determined to do whatever it takes.

“My pledge today aims to end the apathy and give Jeremy Hunt no more excuses for failing to take the action required to help Lyme disease victims,” he said. “People have been left out in the cold and abandoned by their health service. For this to be the situation in modern day Britain is utterly appalling.” In his letter to Mr Hunt, the Caudwell LymeCo Charity chairman Mr Caudwell said he hopes his offer will remove the “clear reluctance in your department to improve the NHS’s woeful lack of understanding” of the illness. He wrote: “I hope that this pledge can act as a catalyst. However it is down to the Government to ultimately take the lead and deliver this desperately needed research - it is your duty and responsibility. The Government has woefully under-resourced this research for far too long.”