More than 350 sportspeople urge Prime Minister Andy Burnham to meet Beth Dobbin and increase ME research funding

More than 350 sportspeople, including Olympians Dina Asher-Smith and Tom Daley, have signed a letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham asking him to meet former sprinter Beth Dobbin and commit to increased funding for research into myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) after Dobbin wrote to him on 21 October and received no response.

Dobbin, 32, recently told BBC Sport she has been diagnosed with "life-decimating" ME and spends more than 22 hours a day in bed; she has said, "It feels like you're days away from death." ME is described in the letter as a chronic, fluctuating disease that can cause sleep problems, issues with thinking and memory, pain and severe persistent fatigue that does not improve with rest and has no known cure or specific treatment.

Campaigners cite prevalence estimates that put more than 400,000 people living with ME in the UK, with the true figure possibly exceeding one million and severity ranging from those able to work or study to people requiring round-the-clock care and tube feeding. Dobbin wrote to the prime minister on 21 October but did not receive a reply and has since been supported by athletes across sport.

Among the 360 sporting figures to have signed the letter are Everton manager David Moyes, United States women's manager Emma Hayes and former Chelsea and England centre-back Millie Bright; athletes Laura Muir, Eilish McColgan and Adam Gemili are listed among 114 Olympians and Paralympians adding their names.

The letter urges Burnham to "level the playing field" for funding into ME research and quotes figures for UK government research spending between 2019 to 2024: "just £6.6m in funding for research into ME, compared to £79.1m for Parkinson's and £496.4m for dementia." It adds: "Prior to this, biomedical research funding was almost non-existent. As a result of the lack of research funding, there are no approved treatments."

Dobbin chose to speak publicly despite the risk of deteriorating health and the letter notes that ME patients often rely on off-label medication to manage a condition that can cause more than 200 symptoms, including nausea, headaches, poor cognitive function and brain fog. The campaign describes how a conversation or sensory stimulus can trigger a "crash" lasting from 24 or 48 hours to, in the worst cases, months; since the interview Dobbin has had several "bad days" and said she has only had the physical strength to take a bath once a week.

Reflecting on the response to her disclosure, Dobbin said: "For many of my team-mates, I dropped off the face of the earth four years ago when I developed severe ME," and added, "I've been taken aback and extremely touched by how many of them - and so many others in the sports world - have jumped at the chance to help by signing this letter. It means so much to me. I hope that, with all of them behind me, Andy Burnham is listening and will commit to doing what's needed to deliver real change for a community that has been neglected for so long." She also said: "I've had thousands and thousands of messages of support," and "It's really shocked me how much it's spread worldwide. I've had messages from America, Canada, Australia, all around Europe. It really has gone massive."

Karen Hargrave, co-founder of the charity ThereForME, commented: "Beth's advocacy has been extraordinary, and today's letter, with the incredible support behind it, will mean so much to so many people with ME across the UK. Successive governments have failed people with ME, and we hope Andy Burnham's government will finally change that. The prime minister can start by meeting Beth and closing the £15m funding gap for Sequence ME & Long Covid, a vital first step towards putting ME research funding on an equal footing with other diseases." A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) can have a devastating impact on people's lives, and we are determined to accelerate progress in understanding and treating this debilitating condition. That is why we are supporting cutting edge research into ME, including a first-of-its-kind programme studying genetic factors behind the condition and a clinical trial for potential new treatments. We have published a plan, developed with the ME community, to boost research, raise awareness and support people living with the condition and we are committed to delivering on it."

The campaign pressing Burnham seeks a meeting with Dobbin and increased research funding, with supporters asking the prime minister to commit to closing the £15m funding gap for the Sequence ME & Long Covid programme as an initial step toward parity with funding for other diseases.