In her X posting on 21st October 2026 Olympic, Commonwealth and European sprinter Beth Dobbin called upon Prime Minister Andy Burnham and the Government to fund ME/CFS research properly and she shared graphics showing the drastic underfunding of ME/CFS research compared to other diseases.
Beth’s plea went unanswered but now the BBC reports that 350 sportspeople – including Olympians Dina Asher-Smith and Tom Daley – have signed a letter to the Prime Minister Burnham calling on him to meet with Beth and to commit to increased funding for ME research. The signatories include 114 Olympians, with 77 medals between them, together with prominent footballers and athletes from other sports. Amongst the sporting community asking for a ‘level playing field’ in research funding are Everton manager David Moyes, and athletes Laura Muir, Eilish McColgan and Adam Gemili.
