THE world's leading scientists have issued a damning statement against the teaching of creationism in schools, arguing that denying the facts of evolution damages the development of children.

The national science academies of 67 countries, including the Royal Society, issued a joint statement warning that scientific evidence about the origins of life was being "concealed, denied, or confused" in many schools.

It added that teaching children about Darwinian evolution and the natural world was integral to protecting the planet.

The statement aims to present a united front against the teaching of creationism and intelligent design in schools in the United States, the UK and elsewhere.

Creationism argues that the origin of life on earth is recent and divine and that all forms of life have always existed in their present form.

Intelligent design, which has been called "thinly veiled" creationism, argues that some species are too complex to have evolved through natural selection and must therefore be the product of a "designer".

The statement says: " Knowledge of the natural world in which they live empowers people to meet human needs and protect the planet. [Life has] evolved in ways which paleontology and the modern biological sciences are describing and confirming with increasing precision."

It continues: "Within science courses taught in certain public systems of education, scientific evidence ... [is] being concealed, denied or confused with theories not testable by science."

The statement follows a long-running row over claims that one of Prime Minister Tony Blair's flagship city academies in the north-east of England, backed by Christian millionaire Sir Peter Vardy, is promoting creationism alongside conventional evolutionary scientific theory.

It also comes as a Times Higher Education Supplement investigation reveals that there are at least 14 academics in science departments at UK universities who consider themselves to be creationists. Creationism and intelligent design have been added to the curriculum at Leicester and Leeds Universities, although the universities say they will be presented as fallacies irreconcilable with scientific evidence.

Scientists in the US have also voiced concern over intelligent design being taught in American schools despite a recent federal court decision prohibiting its teaching in science classes.

A spokesman for the Royal Society said the diversity of signatories to the statement should dismiss claims that evolution is just a "theory" still debated among scientists.

He said: "With crucial international issues, it is important for scientists to express a collective voice in the political process.

"It may be a surprise to people that there is a such a strong consensus on evolution across these cultures and countries."

He added: "We hope this statement will help those who are attempting to uphold the rights of young people to have access to accurate scientific knowledge about the origins and evolution of life on Earth."

Al Nasr, a Berkshire-based Islamic education group which has published leaflets dismissing Charles Darwin's theories as false, said that the Koran provided an equally compelling argument for the origins of life.

A spokesman said: "Evolution is a theory. There are many scientific claims in the Koran - about geography and embryology for example - that are clearly correct and science cannot disprove them.

"So one has to believe [the Koran] has more weight when it comes to the origins of life than evolutionary theory."

Stephen Green, of Christian Voice, a British Christian lobby group, said: "I am encouraged that these guys feel rattled enough to issue this statement.

"It shows how worried they are that children are open to the idea that the complexity of the world around us cannot be explained by the evolutionary process and that the complexity of the world demands the considering of intelligent design.

"And to say that protecting the planet requires an understanding of Darwin is so far off.

"Christians are concerned for the environment and the planet. We are concerned because the planet and environment were created by God."

THE following is the joint statement concerning evolution from the Inter-Academy Panel on International Issues (IAP):

"We agree [on] the following evidence-based facts about the origins and evolution of the Earth and of life on this planet:

• In a universe that has evolved towards its present configuration for some 11 to 15 billion years, our Earth formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago.

• Since its formation, the Earth - its geology and its environments - has changed under the effect of numerous physical and chemical forces and continues to do so.

• Life appeared on Earth at least 2.5 billion years ago. The evolution, soon after, of photosynthetic organisms enabled, from at least 2 billion years ago, the slow transformation of the atmosphere to one containing substantial quantities of oxygen. In addition to the release of the oxygen that we breathe, the process of photosynthesis is the ultimate source of fixed energy and food upon which human life on the planet depends.

• Since its first appearance on Earth, life has taken many forms, all of which continue to evolve. Commonalities in the structure of the genetic code of all organisms living today, including humans, clearly indicate their common primordial origin."

EBEN HARRELL