Volkswagen poured money into an “independent” scientific group which has challenged claims that diesel car fumes cause lung cancer and ill health, an investigation by The Times can reveal.
The European Research Group on Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT) was set up in Berlin in 2007 and has published reports and letters in scientific journals disputing widely accepted evidence that emissions from diesel engines are harmful to human health for the general population.
EUGT, which claims to have “scientific independence”, does not disclose that its managing director was for a decade a senior employee of Volkswagen. As recently as 2013, Michael Spallek presented himself as working for both the car manufacturer and EUGT simultaneously and he continues to use a Volkswagen email