£650m flagship UK research centre is a “bargain” for the UK taxpayer, MPs hear

The man who will head up the UK’s flagship medical research institute costing £650m (€772m; $1050m) has described the building as a “bargain” for the UK taxpayer.

Sir Paul Nurse, chief executive and director of the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI), which is due to begin construction in May and open in 2015, was giving evidence to MPs on the parliamentary science and technology committee on 16 February as part of their inquiry into the centre.

The £650m interdisciplinary medical research institute employing 1500 staff and housed in a newly built centre at St Pancras in central London, is being funded by the Medical …