… “Astrology is a useful diagnostic tool enabling us to see strengths and weaknesses via the birth chart. And, yes, I have helped fellow MPs. I do foresee that one day astrology will have a role to play in healthcare.

He added that opponents to astrology were “bullies”, saying: “Astrology offers self-understanding to people. People who oppose what I say are usually bullies who have never studied astrology. They never look at it. They are absolutely dismissive. Astrology may not be capable of passing double-blind tests but it is based on thousands of years of observation.

Hippocrates said, ‘A physician without a knowledge of astrology has no right to call himself a physician,’ Astrology was until modern times part of the tradition of medicine. I think it is a great pity that so many scientists today are dismissive of right-side brain energy, such as intuition.

People such as Professor Brian Cox, who called astrology ‘rubbish’ have simply not studied the subject. The BBC is quite dismissive of astrology and seeks to promote the science perspective and seems always keen to broadcast criticisms of astrology.”

Bizarrely, Tredinnick, 65, who is chairman of the All-Party Group for Integrated Healthcare, went on to say people who opposed astrology were “racist”. He said: “The opposition (to astrology) is based on what I call the SIP formula – superstition, ignorance, and prejudice. “It tends to be based on superstition, with scientists reacting emotionally, which is always a great irony. They are also ignorant, because they never study the subject and just say that it is all to do with what appears in the newspapers, which it is not, and they are deeply prejudiced, and racially prejudiced, which is troubling.”

Last July Tredinnick caused a storm when he first spoke about the benefits of astrology, saying it had a “proven track record” at helping people recover from illness. He told MPs in the House of Commons: “I am absolutely convinced that those who look at the map of the sky for the day that they were born and receive some professional guidance will find out a lot about themselves and it will make their lives easier.

He even revealed Britain’s last governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, had an official astrologer. He said: “When I was in Hong Kong on the last Parliamentary delegation, I went to see Chris Patten, the last governor before the handover to China. I visited Patten’s official astrologer which he had as governor. He certainly would have been given advice.”

He went on to claim past world leaders, including Winston Churchill, legendary French general Charles de Gaulle and former US President Ronald Reagan, also used astrology.