Former chair of the science and technology select committee will lead a panel to reassess the scientific papers produced by the Climatic Research Unit

The University of East Anglia has asked Lord Oxburgh, former chair of the House of Lords science and technology select committee, to head a new inquiry into the results produced by the climate scientists at the centre of a media storm.

Oxburgh will lead a panel of scientists that will reassess the scientific papers produced by experts at the university's Climatic Research Unit (CRU). The work of the CRU has been subject to intense scrutiny since thousands of emails from its scientists were released online in November.

Oxburgh said: "The shadow hanging over climate change and science more generally at present makes it a matter of urgency that we get on with this assessment. We will undertake this work and report as soon as possible."

The university has already set up a separate inquiry into the way the CRU scientists behaved, led by Sir Muir Russell. The new investigation will look at the results they published in scientific journals.

Trevor Davies, pro-vice chancellor for research at the university, said: "CRU's scientific papers have been examined by scientists from other institutions through the peer review system before being accepted for publication by international journals. We have no reason to question the effectiveness of this process. Nevertheless, given the concerns about climate research expressed by some in the media, we decided to augment the Muir Russell review with an independent assessment of CRU's key publications in the areas which have been most subject to comment."

The members of the panel are: Prof Huw Davies at ETH Zurich, Prof Kerry Emanual at MIT, Prof Lisa Graumlich of the University of Arizona, Prof David Hand of Imperial College London, and Prof Herbert Huppert and Prof Michael Kelly at the University of Cambridge.