Leading scientist Prof Steve Jones has claimed that the hope that genetic research could provide a cure for a host of common illnesses has proved a "false dawn".
 
Prof Jones, a geneticist, said the belief that a few genes held the key to ridding the world of conditions such as cancer and diabetes had proved to be "plain wrong".

In most cases, hundreds of genes are responsible, and often they have less effect than other factors such as diet, lifestyle and the environment.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph today, the academic and author called for a complete overhaul of the "scattergun" approach to genetic research, which is backed by millions of pounds in funding by governments and medical charities such as the Wellcome Trust.

Prof Jones said he was one of a number of "…