GOVERNMENT moves to allow multiple-sclerosis drug Beta Interferon to thousands of sufferers have been welcomed by East Lancashire MP Gordon Prentice.

The Pendle Labour backbencher is president of the Burnley and Pendle MS Society and secretary of the Parliamentary MS group.

Availability of the costly drug has been a major bone of contention between sufferers and doctors and the government. Initially, the government's National Institute for Clinical Excellence said it did not believe Beta Interferon was a cost-effective use of NHS resources.

But now the Department of Health is discussing with manufacturers ways to increase the use of the drug and cut the cost.

In the interim, all sufferers of serious MS are to be allowed to have the drug free on the NHS.

Mr Prentice said: "The plain fact is that people with MS who could benefit from Beta Interferon should get it -- no ifs or buts.

"MS could strike any of us at any time and that is why we have an NHS and a system of national insurance to help us when we fall ill.

"The softening of the governments's position is encouraging. I welcome the move to make the drug more widely available.

"MS is one of the most common diseases of the central nervous system and it affects 80,000 to 90,000 in the UK.

"It usually strikes in early adulthood and the disabilities which accompany it can range from impairment of speech, vision and movement to complete paralysis. The cause of MS is unknown and at present there is no cure.

"Beta Interferon can dramatically improve the welfare of sufferers from the disease."