Past Pupils

Eric Deakins (1950)

MP for Walthamstow West, 1970-74

A junior minister at Trade and the DHSS during the Wilson and Callaghan governments

In 1976, the fluoride in drinking water debate was at its height.
This report is from the Bolton Evening news of June 12th 1976.
A GOVERNMENT Minister has emphatically denied that the addition of fluoride to water supplies could cause a thalidomide-type tragedy. And despite the recent Bolton Evening News' referendum in which readers voted overwhelmingly against using fluoride, Health Junior Minister Mr Eric Deakins makes it clear the Government intends to press ahead with its fluoridation programme.