Widespread creationism teaching would worry UK's Blair

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in an interview he would be worried if creationism entered mainstream teaching in British schools.

Creationism -- the view that God created the world in six days as described in the Bible -- has long been at the centre of controversy in the United States, where conservative Christians reject Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

A row broke out in Britain earlier this year after a private foundation that funds several schools in northern England was accused of teaching creationism in science classes.

The foundation said it taught evolution but said creation beliefs could be mentioned in some scientific discussions.

In an interview with New Scientist magazine yesterday, Blair said talk of some British schools teaching creationism was sometimes hugely exaggerated.

''I've visited one of the schools in question and as far as I'm aware they are teaching the curriculum in a normal way,'' he said.

''If I notice creationism becoming the mainstream of the education system in this country then that's the time to start worrying,'' he said.

Blair, who is due to give a lecture on the future of British science on Friday, said science was almost as important as economic stability to the future of the British economy.

''If we do not take the opportunities that are there for us in science then we are not going to have a successful modern economy,'' he said. ''We will be out-competed on labour costs''.

''We've got to give the country a great deal more confidence about science and its place in the future,'' he said.

Blair, who confessed he was very poor at science at school, advised scientists to ''fight the battles you need to fight''.

He said he wouldn't bother fighting a great battle over homeopathy, for example, but said the scientific community had to engage in a ''very strong and deep'' dialogue with wider society over the possibilities of genetics.

Blair attacked the media over its reporting of a controversy over giving a triple measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to children.

The debate originated with a medical study, now widely rejected, linking the MMR vaccination to autism.

The scare led to a drop in the number of parents wanting their children vaccinated, leading doctors to fear some children could catch a potentially fatal disease.

''The reporting of MMR was disgraceful. There was no real scientific basis for the allegations that were made and it's caused a great deal of difficulty,'' Blair said.

Reuters SRS VP0435