So the academic IT experts who wrote to the Government to call for an independent review of the wobbling National Programme for IT (NPfIT) are just "an irritant" to the NHS, they claim.

If that is the NHS' view on 23 experts who are trying to aid such a critical national project - and the NHS refuses to comment on the story - then it is a real shame.

The academics are not trying to define themselves the direction of NPfIT - they are just trying to provoke the creation of a review by a range of thought-leaders to sort out the mess that the Project has this summer turned into.

The NHS and the Government behind it must be accountable for sorting out this multi-billion pound mess, and must not turn their back on experienced professionals who have a very valid view.