Cancer Research UK has announced that its research funding is to be cut by £45m due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is on top of £44m cuts made to its grants at the start of the health crisis.

The cuts will see the charity fund 12 fewer fellowships, 24 fewer research programmes as well as 68 fewer projects and 328 fewer researchers.

“These cuts will have long-term effects,” warned the charity.

“A shrinking research portfolio will not only slow down future breakthroughs for people with cancer but could seriously reduce the chances of reaching the charity’s goal of 3 in 4 people surviving their cancer by 2034.”

The charity’s chief scientist Professor Karen Vousden added: “It has a knock-on effect. People who do basic research, fundamental research, a lot of them can answer very important and exciting research questions that are not necessarily cancer research questions.

“So we lose these very clever researchers, who think ‘you know, there's no funding here. I'm going to start working on a different topic.’ Will they ever come back to us?”

The charity has warned that similar research cuts could be made next year unless a drop in income due to the pandemic is covered by government support or donations.

“If nothing changes, the charity could be spending £150 million less per year by 2024, with a potential £300 million decline in fundraising income over the next three years,” Cancer Research UK said.

In October the Institute of Public Policy Research warned that medical charities are set to invest £4.1bn less in health research and development due to Covid-19 income losses.

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