MPs behind a controversial report which called for e-cigarette users to be allowed to vape in public have been criticised for their links to the vaping industry.

The Science and Technology Committee yesterday called for a relaxation of regulations surrounding e-cigarettes so they could be licensed, prescribed and advertised.

However it has emerged that in April the committee chair Norman Lamb spoke at the UK Vaping Industry Association’s (UKVIA) industry forum, following which he allowed the lobbying group to directly address his committee.

A synopsis of the meeting from the UKVIA said the Lamb was ‘so convinced by the arguments raised, he immediately arranged for us to give formal evidence in Parliament a fortnight later.”