New cloned baby due in days, claims UFO cult

A second cloned baby is due to be born in Europe within the next few days, the chairwoman of Clonaid, part of the Raelian sect, claimed last night. Dr Brigitte Boisselier told France 2 television that a girl would be born "in the next few days, I think this week".

There has been no independent confirmation of the Raelians' claim, reported on 27 December, that a first cloned child, named Eve, had been created from the skin and egg cells of an anonymous American woman aged 31.

When asked whether independent specialists would be given access to Eve, Dr Boisselier said: "Perhaps the second child will be more accessible because it is in Europe and the country in which it ­ she ­ will be born will be less sensitive."

Dr Boisselier said DNA samples that would prove the Raelians' claim had still not been taken because of legal moves in the United States to take Eve away from her mother, but promised that scientific proof would be produced, even if the samples had to be taken outside America to escape the jurisdiction of the US courts. "I am confident these tests will be done soon," she said.

Clonaid said it had appointed a freelance science journalist to oversee DNA testing of the mother and baby by "independent scientists". The disclosure is likely to increase scepticism among scientists that the baby is a genuine clone.

But Sir Alec Jeffreys ­ the inventor of DNA fingerprinting and a professor of genetics at Leicester University ­ said an established protocol would have to be followed if the results were to be accepted by the scientific community.

Only independent scientists should take saliva samples from the mother and her child and this should be verified by witnesses from a reputable organisation, such as the American Association of Blood Banks, which oversees paternity and forensic testing in the US, Sir Alec said.

The tissue samples should be tested by two independent laboratories legally validated to run DNA tests. Each test should analyse between 10 and 15 "markers" on the DNA molecules to assess whether mother and child were indeed genetically identical.

"The results should be subjected to rigorous statistical analyses by the laboratories involved and published in full so that they can be properly evaluated," Sir Alec said.

The Royal Society endorsed Sir Alec's protocol, saying it is one of 10 issues ­ including the physical and mental health of the mother and baby ­ that Clonaid has yet to address.

The society said there was "a lack of evidence" that cloning was "medically safe, scientifically sound, or socially acceptable" and added: "We urge all individuals and organisations that claim to be engaged in human reproductive cloning immediately to release the full details of their work."