Richard Westgarth Lacey (11 October 1940 – 3 February 2019) was a British microbiologist and writer, known for arguing that Bovine spongiform encephalopathy "mad cow disease" can be passed to humans.

He was appointed to the chair of clinical microbiology at the University of Leeds in 1983, where he remained until his retirement in 1998 to become an emeritus professor.

[5][6] In 1990 Lacey was ridiculed for suggesting a link between bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and its human Variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease.

[8] Lacey believed there was a "systematic cover-up" from the government and scientists about the dangers of food that British people eat.

[10] Lacy was acclaimed as brave and fearless in his beliefs but was denounced by the media as a panic monger and self-publicist.