Actually I wrote back once you pointed that out, and we've swapped a few e-mails since, but now he's gone silent too. It is hard, this crankery.

I explained the whole bloody thing to him, with papers attached, and said:

What I would expect you to say is:

(a) We hear that all the time, and it's rubbish because [link]

(b) That's not a bad idea, but it can't be true because [implication that I have missed that isn't true]

(c) [redacted for fear of identifying correspondent]

and he said:

I [have specialised in a thyroid-related field but I don't see CFS patients] Therefore I have no experience nor opinion about the topic you want me to address.

Am I reading too much into this, or are those the words of a man trying not to get his name mixed up in a massive scandal? Are there in fact lots of people perfectly well aware that there is something dreadful going on but no-one wants to be the first to say it out loud in public?