Millionaire gay couple who have five 'designer' children facing court for breaching clinical trial protocol

 By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Britain's first gay parents have appeared in court to deny fiddling data from their medical research company.

Millionaires Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow, who have had five children by a surrogate, are accused of fabricating the test results in clinical trials.

They are also accused of lying to an ethics committee by saying that Barrie was a nurse when he did not hold the appropriate qualifications.

Civil partners: Barrie and Tony Drewitt-Barlow cemented their relationship with a ceremony in 2006

Euroderm Research, which went into liquidation in March 2008, conducted tests for dermatological and cosmetic products.

The couple, from  Maldon in Essex, pleaded not guilty to the allegations when they appeared at Southwark Crown Court this afternoon.

They are charged with letting participants take part in trials more than once, not completing the necessary consent forms correctly and with making a false application for an ethics committee opinion.

The pair hit the headlines in 1999 when they became the first British same-sex couple to be named on their children's birth certificates.

Newborns: The Drewitt-Barlows were the first British homosexual couple to be named on their children's birth certificates

Twins Aspen and Saffron were born to a surrogate mother in California. Following a ruling by an American court, they became the first British children to be registered as having two fathers and no mother.

Four years later, the Drewitt-Barlows used the same egg donor and a different surrogate to have another child, Orlando.

Last year, the couple welcomed their fourth and fifth children into the world. Twin boys Dallas and Jasper were born to the same surrogate mother who carried Orlando.

The couple, who have made millions from cosmetic research, entered into a civil partnership in 2006.

Family: Tony and Barrie with their children Saffron, Aspen and Orlando

Tony, 47, who was a director of the company, and 42-year-old Barrie, the company's former manager of clinical operations, are both charged with five counts of contravening the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations.

The couple appeared in the dock with three other people.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, which is prosecuting the case, said it was the first case of its kind to go to court under the regulations.

The trial, which is expected to last for six weeks, is due to start on Wednesday afternoon.

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