Father’s facts didn’t stack up

Joanne Briggs in conversation with Cindy Burrowes

The Relais Henley

Tuesday, October 7

ARRIVING at 2.55pm proved a mistake — in the long, narrow, overly hot room at the Relais, only seats at the back remained. Fortunately, the acoustics helped, as the stage remained out of view.

Joanne Briggs began with a reading from her new book, The Scientist Who Wasn’t There. The scientist in question was Joanne’s late father, Professor Michael Briggs.

Joanne spoke first about her mother and the incompatibility of her parents: he a research chemist with a doctorate from Cornell University, she an artist who believed in fairies.

Gradually, the professor’s life was revealed. Having left in the Sixties when Joanne was a child, he embarked on a series of jobs across the world — at the University of Lusaka, the World Health Organisation, the NASA jet propulsion laboratory and US pharmaceutical company Schering.

With tinkling bracelets as she talked, Joanne explained that she reconnected with her father when he lived in Australia. She described his style as “extreme non-parenting”, which drew a laugh from the audience.

While out for lunch with her father, he told her that “something is going wrong”. That was a 1986 Sunday Times exposé — “Bogus works of Professor Briggs”. The paper alleged he had faked results on the safety of oral contraceptives.

Joanne sent him a telegram. “It’s all fine,” came the reply. Two months later, his second wife rang: “He’s dead and I’ve buried him.” Prof Briggs was 51 years old.

His involvement in another scandal came to light in 2020, when the UK government published a report on Primodos, an oral pregnancy test taken off the market in 1978 after women believed it had caused birth defects. Prof Briggs was responsible for Primodos while research director at Schering.

After his death, allegations surfaced about his qualifications. Joanne contacted Cornell. Her father did not have a doctorate — only a master’s thesis. He’d even had a false doctorate “book” made.

Joanne has grown to understand him as a flawed man and quoted a French saying: “Once you know everything, you can forgive everything”.

“It couldn’t happen now”, were the final words from interviewer Cindy.

Laura Basden