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Andrew W Montford has a degree in Chemistry from St Andrews University, he is behind the Bishop Hill climate skeptic blog. Montford is a Chartered Accountant by trade , living and practicing in Scotland[1]





Position on Climate Change

Andrew Montford is a climate skeptic, author of "The Hockey Stick Illusion" and a blogger on his website Bishop Hill. Montford says "I believe that CO2, other things being equal, will make the planet warmer. The six million dollar question is how much warmer" [2] On his blog he writes "of course mankind has always affected the climate." [3]

Montford objects to a description of his work seeking to debunk climate science[4] but has a shaky grasp of objectivity at best. In a short Bishop Hill article Montford asks "Should we believe anything the Met Office says?" His concerns are based on nothing more than Chairman Robert Napier's CV.[5] A few months later he warms to the theme and claims Napier is an "environmental activist" (although he gives no evidence and does not even reference his point).[6]

That was in a memorandum to the UK Parliamentary inquiry into the CRU hack. Montford also claims in that submission to have "no financial or other vested interest in the outcome of the inquiry."[7] However the memorandum lobbies for the review to take evidence from skeptics, [8] and claims climatology has lost it's objectivity. [9]

Reviews of Hockey Stick Illusion

The Hockey Stick Illusion published by Stacey International was greeted by mixed reviews. Positive from the likes of Christopher Booker and Matt Ridley, well known right wing climate skeptics

RealClimate described it as as "Montford’s typical sloppy research" in an article entitled The Montford Delusion. [10]. Elsewhere it was described as an "entertaining conspiracy yarn" [11] Another review entitled Mean-spirited scepticism by Richard Joyner Emeritus Professor at Nottingham Trent University says "Montford’s book is not an honest contribution"[12] In 'Chemistry World' Professor Nick Hewitt writes "Here, one small part of the body of evidence that shows the Earth is warming is examined in tedious detail... but this polemic does absolutely nothing to alter the physics of the Earth system. Andrew Montford declares he studied chemistry - with the benefit of his scientific education one would think he should know better. Readers of Chemistry World will have far better things to do than read this pedantic book."[13]

Alastair McIntosh writing for the Scottish Review of Books sums up :"Montford’s analysis might cut the mustard with tabloid intellectuals but not with most scientists. The Hockey Stick Illusion might serve a psychological need in those who can’t face their own complicity in climate change, but at the end of the day it’s exactly what it says on the box: a write-up of somebody else’s blog." [14]

GWPF "Enquiry"

When the three British Government enquiries into the CRU email saga were completed the Global Warming Policy Foundation immediately announced it would to stir the issue up once more. Montford was commisioned to write an "enquiry" into the climategate emails claims and was paid £3000 for his efforts. The results were released in September 2010 The choice of Montford was ironic given the serious inaccuracies in his book, which grew out of a manuscript he produced that summarised posts on Climate Audit[15]. Furthermore the Global Warming Policy Foundation's own funding is mired in controversy whilst it enjoys charitable status , yet Montford himself is critical of what he calls 'fake charities'. [16] In his "enquiry" Montford criticized the official enquiries for not including known skeptics on their panels. This is a distortion of the truth however, since the Parliamentary Enquiry at the least included Graham Stringer Labour MP for Blackley and Broughton , a man who has consistently voted very strongly against laws to stop climate change . [17] [18] Montford knows this and records a cosy chat with Stringer on his blog[19]

Business Interests

Montford helped to set up "Anglosphere" in 2004 which describes itself as "a provider of editing services to the publishing industry and business" [20] . He takes responsibility for developing their "innovative approach to the scientific book production" (sic) . [21]

SourceWatch resources

Stacey International

Global Warming Policy Foundation

External resources