Autism whistleblower might avoid all charges despite 20-month `witch-hunt`
By FIONA MACRAE, Daily Mail 16th July 2006
The doctor at the centre of the MMR vaccine controversy might not face misconduct charges after all, despite a long-running investigation by the medical watchdog. Dr Andrew Wakefield, the first doctor to suggest a link between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella jab, has been the subject of a 20-month inquiry into alleged serious professional misconduct.
But the General Medical Council admitted last night that it might not proceed with the charges - and there is `no guarantee` there will ever be a hearing.
The admission was welcomed by Dr Wakefield`s supporters. Jackie Fletcher, of the pressure group Jabs, said: "It is appalling that they can have the power to hold this over someone`s head for close on two years. It has been an absolute witch-hunt.
"All he was guilty of was listening to what parents said, clinically investigating the children and then reporting his findings. All he did was hold up a red flag and say, `There`s something going on that needs to be investigated further`."
Research at the Royal Free Hospital in North London by Dr Wakefield and 12 other doctors, published in the Lancet in 1998, caused an international scare over the safety of the triple jab.
Thousands of parents boycotted the vaccine, and with immunisation rates slumping, cases soared of measles, mumps and rubella - or German measles.
Tony Blair was accused of adding to the confusion by refusing to say whether his son Leo had received the jab.
Dr Wakefield`s small-scale study was called into question when various larger surveys failed to find any evidence of a link between autism and the vaccine.
Last year, an analysis of 31 MMR studies by the respected Cochrane Library found no association between the jab and the condition, and the Government has repeatedly assured parents that it is safe to vaccinate their children.
However, the idea has refused to go away. Last month a study by doctors in North Carolina reported finding measles in the intestines of children with a form of autism.
And last week, it was revealed that autism is at a record high with more than one in 100 children affected.
The GMC investigation into Dr Wakefield started in late 2004, when the Lancet publicly rejected his findings because he failed to reveal he received £55,000 in legal aid to carry out separate research for parents who claimed their children had been harmed by the jab.
Preliminary charges included failing to obtain GMC approval before his work appeared in print, obtaining funding `improperly` and subjecting children to "unnecessary and invasive investigations".
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