Rob Burrow's dad Geoff has made a fresh plea to the government to stump up the £50million they pledged towards motor neurone disease (MND) research following the death of Doddie Weir.
The government insists it remains committed to spending 'at least' another £50m to help find a cure for the disease which kills six people a day in the UK.
Scottish rugby great Weir had campaigned alongside Leeds Rhinos icon Burrow and fellow sufferer Stephen Darby, who played football for Liverpool and Bradford City among others, prior to his death on Saturday, aged 52.
And now Burrow sr has issued another impassioned plea for the government to step in as his son continues to battle the terminal affliction.
He tweeted: "SO SAD to hear about Rugby Legend Doddle Weir a true champion and such a lovely kind human being RIP Doddie. SO NOW COME ON GOVERNMENT - cut all “Red Tape” and give the so called “promises” of funding of £50million over 5 years. NO MORE DELAYS PLEASE."
Burrow himself referenced the outstanding £50m in his tribute to Weir, taking aim at the 'stupid' government.
He posted: "So sad to hear the news of the passing of my mnd hero Doddie Weir. I'm sorry to say, how many more warriors die before this stupid government give the 50m they said they would give. I'm absolutely gutted to see my friendly giraffe die. You are the reason for being so positive RIP."
Burrow had earlier told the government they have 'blood on their hands' over the delay amid Kevin Sinfield's inspirational fundraising efforts which have topped £6m.
He said: "I've heard it is curable but underfunded in the past, with the money supposedly coming from the government. The money Kevin [Sinfield] has raised, over £6m, would start it off.
"I'm sorry, but this Tory government has blood on their hands, because [MND] kills six people every day."
Alex Massey, head of campaigning, policy and public affairs at the MND Association, added: "We are very frustrated that one year on from the announcement of the promised funds, none of it is yet in the hands of researchers.
"The remaining issues relate to how the £50m is delivered, and our desire for researchers to be able to access the funding at scale through a small number of grant applications, rather than a large number of applications for small amounts of funding."
In a statement, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We have invested millions of pounds into MND research - leading to major advances in how the disease is understood - and we remain committed to spending at least another £50m to help find a cure to this awful illness.
"We've already funded clinical trials for various drugs which have shown promise in tackling MND, and we encourage researchers to make applications for this funding - which is available right now."
