Hybrid embryo research wins support

The report, from the Academy of Medical Sciences, said permitting the research was "vital" in the fight against a range of diseases including cancer.

It comes just over a month after the Government published a draft Bill on the subject which swept away previous plans to ban the use of such embryos.

The Human Tissue and Embryos Bill would allow scientists, in principle, to produce "cytoplasmic" hybrid embryos that are 99.9% human and 0.1% animal.

The Bill goes further and permits human embryos to be altered by the introduction of animal DNA.

It also allows human-animal chimeras - human embryos that have been physically mixed with one or more animal cells.

In all cases it would be illegal for embryos to grow for more than 14 days - beyond the size of a pinhead - or be implanted into a womb.

The Academy's report backs the measures proposed in the draft Bill, which is currently being scrutinised by a joint committee of MPs and peers.

But it also goes further by saying there may come a time when "true" animal-human hybrids, creatures "bred" by the fusion of sperm and eggs, may be vital for research.

The draft Bill still proposes that these should remain outlawed, as they are today under the existing Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.