More arrows are being hurled at the inquiry into the ‘climate-gate’ emails.

The Russell Review, led by Muir Russell, has already come under attack over its impartiality and lost one member – Nature’s editor in chief Philip Campbell – over a claimed conflict of interest. Now Geoffrey Boulton, general secretary of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, is in the firing line.

Boulton told journalists last week that he had worked at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the past. The investigation is looking into allegations of poor scientific practice at UEA, triggered by the theft of emails from the university’s Climatic Research Unit.

Now some are claiming that his previously employer and his views – such as his “confidence that global warming was caused by humans”– show he is not impartial. “Sir Muir may well have prejudiced the outcome before the inquiry has even started,” opines the Scotsman.

The IPCC is also under fire, with Reuters claiming another error has been found in their reports. The newswire says a claim that 55% of the Netherlands is below sea level is wrong, and that is actually the proportion of the country prone to flooding, which includes areas alongside rivers but above sea level.

According to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, only 26% of the country is below sea level with 29% at risk of flooding due to rivers. Questions are also being asked about hurricane claims from the IPCC.

Meanwhile, one of the authors of the IPPC report that erroneously stated that the Himalayan glaciers could vanish by 2035 has hit back at critics. Martin Parry, who co-chaired working group two, wrote to his colleagues on Saturday saying “What began with a single unfortunate error over Himalayan glaciers has become a clamour without substance.” (Various, eg Guardian, Telegraph.)

For a decent run down of what’s actually in doubt with the IPCC and what’s not, head over to Real Climate.