A Cambridge professor has made the astonishing claim that three scientists investigating the melting of Arctic ice may have been assassinated within the space of a few months.

Professor Peter Wadhams said he feared being labelled a "looney" over his suspicion that the deaths of the scientists were more than just an 'extraordinary' coincidence.

Controversial comments: Professor Peter Wadhams. Credit:Screen grab: YouTube

But he insisted the trio could have been murdered and hinted that the oil industry or else sinister government forces might be implicated.

The three scientists he identified - Seymour Laxon and Katherine Giles, both climate change scientists at University College London (UCL), and Tim Boyd of the Scottish Association for Marine Science - all died within the space of a few months in early 2013.