Met Office denies petition pressure claim

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The chief scientist for the United Kingdom's Met Office said no scientists were pressured to sign a petition defending climate change science.

Met Office chief scientist Julia Slingo said while at least one scientist alleged he felt pressured to sign the petition, the more than 1,700 scientists who signed the petition did so willingly, The Times of London reported Thursday.

"The response has been absolutely spontaneous. As a scientist you sign things you agree with, not because you are worried about what the Met Office might think of you," Slingo said.

The petition organized by Slingo and Met Office chief executive John Hirst was a response to recent criticism of climate change science.

Such criticism was prompted by a series of e-mails stolen from the University of East Anglia in Britain that allegedly indicate scientists manipulated data to prove the existence of global warming.

One scientist, whose identity was not released, told The Times he was concerned his career could have suffered had he not signed the petition.

"The Met Office is a major employer of scientists and has long had a policy of only appointing and working with those who subscribe to their views on man-made global warming," the scientist said.