A PHYSICIAN who is a professor at Edinburgh University has branded a claim that radiation emitted from 5G masts could fry people’s reproductive organs as "ridiculous".

The assertion, which was made by Andrea Luxford-Vaughan at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday evening, was in response to a member of the public who said Covid-19 lockdowns were “a great cover to speed up the creation infrastructure necessary to cover the country, and ultimately install the internet of things”.

Ms Luxford-Vaughan responded by saying she was “deeply sympathetic”, adding she had campaigned against 5G masts which “fry young people’s internal organs, including their reproductive organs.”

The cabinet member for planning, environment and sustainability later clarified her statement and said there could be long-term health implications because of radiation.

Gazette: Research – academics are conducting research into the long-term effects that 5G masts might have on people's health by emitting radiationResearch – academics are conducting research into the long-term effects that 5G masts might have on people's health by emitting radiation (Image: Pixabay)

Now, an epidemiologist Professor John Frank – a health expert at Edinburgh University – has said there is no evidence to support Ms Luxford-Vaughan’s claim on 5G masts affecting people's internal organs.

He did add, however, more research is needed to establish the long-term effects of radiation emitted by 5G networks.

He told the Gazette: “Over the last 30 years, we’ve had generations of cell phones on 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G – all that has changed is that we have moved into a higher frequency of radiation.

“Moving into a 5G range, we are exposing people to a range on which there’s almost no research.

“This frequency carries a lot of information, which is why it’s being promoted – it connects you very, very quickly in terms of bytes per millisecond, but it is easily interrupted by smoke, fog, foliage, or whatever.

Gazette: Cabinet – Andrea Luxford-Vaughan is the cabinet member for planning, environment, and sustainabilityCabinet – Andrea Luxford-Vaughan is the cabinet member for planning, environment, and sustainability (Image: Newsquest)

“If you need a 5G mast every 100 to 200 metres how many more masts are needed? About 35 times as many."

He continued: “There are conspiracy theorists who take advantage of this kind of uncertainty, but it’s not as if there’s no issue; it’s not going to fry people’s innards – that’s ridiculous.

“Most cancer-causing exposures take decades to cause cancer – you wouldn’t see much for the first few decades.

“Those tests will begin and I have reviewed them, but we don’t want to be associated with the conspiracy theorists.

“There’s enough of that out there.”