Simon Singh

Simon Singh is a British popular science author and former particle physicist who holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and a BSc from Imperial College London. He is best known to general audiences for his books Fermat's Last Theorem (1997), The Code Book (1999), and Big Bang (2004) — works that brought rigorous scientific and mathematical reasoning to popular audiences. He was awarded an MBE for services to science communication. Alongside his popular science writing, Singh is a prominent skeptic who has applied his skills to evaluating alternative medicine claims.

In 2008, Singh co-authored Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial with Edzard Ernst, a systematic evaluation of the evidence for acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, and herbal medicine. That same year, Singh's Guardian article "Beware the Spinal Trap" — critical of chiropractic claims for treating non-spinal conditions — led the British Chiropractic Association to sue him for libel. Singh chose to fight the case rather than settle, and in 2010 won his appeal to rely on the defence of fair comment. The BCA subsequently withdrew its case. The litigation had an outcome far beyond Singh personally: the public backlash catalyzed a libel reform movement that influenced all major UK political parties and ultimately led to the Defamation Act 2013, which substantially strengthened free speech protections for scientific and academic commentary.

Singh's chiropractic case is considered a landmark moment in the intersection of science communication and law, demonstrating both the use of legal intimidation to silence scientific critics and the capacity of organized scientific community support to defend the right to publish evidence-based criticism. His continued work at the intersection of science, evidence, and public policy makes him a significant figure in the skeptical movement.