Lord Cameron to set out Britain’s case as world leader in genomics at Nevill Holt Festival’s inaugural Health Agenda Day
The Article
Mon 27 April, 2026
[Monday, April 27]: Britain is leading a global healthcare revolution and is well on the way to finding cures for the diseases that affect families across the country, Lord Cameron will argue at the inaugural Nevill Holt Festival Health Agenda Day on Thursday June 4.
In an exclusive conversation with John Micklethwait, the former Editor-in-Chief of Bloomberg, the former Prime Minister will set out why the UK’s leadership in genomics – built on the foundations of the 100,000 Genomes Project he launched in Downing Street – is driving a decisive shift towards personalised and preventative medicine, with real progress now in sight for patients with Alzheimer’s, rare diseases and cancer.
Since leaving office, Lord Cameron has devoted much of his time to advancing medical innovation. He serves as President of Alzheimer’s Research UK and chairs the Advisory Council of the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre, a transatlantic collaboration building directly on the work of the UK’s 100,000 Genomes Project.
25% of ticket revenue from Lord Cameron’s event at the Nevill Holt Festival will be donated to Alzheimer’s Research UK, which funds pioneering research into the causes, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of dementia.
Lord Cameron will reflect on the loss of his son Ivan to Ohtahara Syndrome, a rare neurological condition, and of his mother to dementia – and on why he believes the science now emerging from British laboratories offers genuine hope to families facing the same diagnoses today.
Sir Jonathan Van-Tam: Behind the scenes in COVID-19
Lord Cameron’s keynote follows an appearance by Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, the former Deputy Chief Medical Officer whose evening press conferences became some of the most-watched broadcasts of the pandemic. In Behind the Scenes in COVID-19, Sir Jonathan will offer a candid account of the decisions, debates and pressures behind Britain’s pandemic response – and the lessons he believes the country must learn before the next public health emergency.
Commenting on his appearance, Sir Jonathan Van-Tam says: “The Covid-19 pandemic is truly over, thank goodness. To me, sometimes it feels like a decade ago; sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday. Unfortunately, we can be assured there will be more such events. In this lecture, I will try to decode what really happened, and what we must learn for the future. This is not the Inquiry condensed, but the JVT version of events, including one or two sharp elbows!”
Professor Stephen Westaby: A Heart Surgeon’s Stories
Professor Stephen Westaby, one of the world’s most experienced heart surgeons and a pioneer of artificial heart technology, opens the afternoon with A Heart Surgeon’s Stories – a frank reflection on four decades at the frontier of cardiac medicine, the patients he could not save, and his long-standing critique of NHS management culture.
A full afternoon of debate on the future of British medicine
Health Agenda Day, in partnership with Simon Jersey, convenes leading voices across medicine, policy and advocacy to confront the most pressing challenges in modern health. The full line-up includes:
- Professor Fiona Gilbert, Head of the Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge
- Professor Nigel Mongon, Department of Oncology, University of Nottingham
- Professor Matt Brookes, Department of Physics, Functional Brain Imaging, University of Nottingham
- Dr Mairi Houlgreave, Tourettes Research, N3 Centre, University of Nottingham
Tickets will go on sale for Health Agenda Day exclusively to Nevill Holt Festival Members on Monday 27 April, and to the general public on Wednesday 29 April at nevillholtfestival.com. Tickets are £35.00 for access to the full day’s agenda, excluding David Cameron’s event. David Cameron: My Mission in Medical Innovation can be attended with a separate ticket priced at £45.00, with 25% donated to Alzheimer’s Research UK.