Dolly creator to leave Britain

Dr Colman is going to work in Singapore

A creator of Dolly the cloned sheep has blamed his decision to leave Britain on a lack of research funding.

Dr Alan Colman, 53, said he has found it impossible to find the £30m needed for his project to find a cure for diabetes using stem cells.

He has now decided to leave Edinburgh and continue his work in Singapore.

Dolly was cloned from an adult cell

The research director of PPL Therapeutics' Roslin Institute said the UK Government provides "substandard" investment compared to other countries such as the US.

He told the Scotland on Sunday newspaper: "I'm a scientist and the type of science I want to do is expensive and I'll go where the investment is made.

"I've been in Scotland for 10 years and I love Edinburgh.

"If I could stay in Scotland and do it I would, but there's no way I'd get the scale of resources I need."

Mr Colman plans to leave Scotland next month to start work at ES Cell International in Singapore.

It specialises in the commercial development of embryonic stem cells, which scientists believe could provide cures for a range of diseases.

Dolly was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell and came into the world in 1996.