MMR group's cash links to vaccine firm

Kate Foster Health Correspondent

AN EXPERT group set up to advise the Scottish executive on the controversial MMR jab was at the centre of a fresh row last night after it emerged four of its members have financial links to a pharmaceutical firm which makes the vaccine.

Campaigners against the triple jab said the revelation compromised the group’s independence and meant their findings could not be trusted.

The development comes amid reports the 19-strong group is likely to make a majority recommendation to continue to give parents no alternative to the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella.

The publication of their work has been delayed by at least a month amid speculation the experts are divided on whether to offer parents single vaccines in the face of a drop in Scottish MMR inoculation rates.

Last night, it emerged the scientist who provoked the debate on MMR safety, when he published research linking it to autism and bowel disease , has found more evidence casting doubt on the government’s insistence the vaccine is safe.

Professor Andrew Wakefield and his collaborator, Professor John O’Leary, have found autistic children are 12 times more likely to have measles DNA in their guts following the MMR jab than other children.

According to the Scottish parliament’s expert group’s declaration of members’ interests, which has been seen by The Scotsman, Professor Eve Johnstone, a leading psychiatrist and academic at Edinburgh University, has about £10,000 worth of shares in GlaxoSmithKline.

Dr Andrew Riley, the director of public health for Borders NHS board, has 40 shares in GlaxoSmithKline and Professor Lewis Ritchie, the head of general practice and primary care at the University of Aberdeen, has single-company PEP investments in GlaxoSmithKline.

Dr David Goldblatt, a consultant paediatric immunologist at Great Ormond Street Children’s NHS Trust, has admitted receiving "industrial support" from a number firms that manufacture vaccines.

The group’s remit includes examining the consequences of pursuing an alternative vaccine policy to MMR and to review evidence on the apparent increase in autism.

GlaxoSmithKline is one of several pharmaceutical firms defending a forthcoming High Court action in London brought by about 2,000 UK families who believe their children were damaged by vaccines.

The Scottish executive yesterday insisted it expected the expert group to be "objective and work with integrity".

A spokeswoman said: "The declaration of interests is not a secret and was circulated within the group. No action was taken because we did not feel it was necessary."

However Bill Welsh, the chairman of Action Against Autism, said the revelations "seriously compromise the independence of the group" and called on the executive to research more thoroughly the backgrounds of members of the medical profession prior to "sensitive appointments".

He added: "It may well be that the so-called ‘expert group’ was doomed to failure from the beginning.

"Parents in Scotland seeking single vaccines as a choice will be devastated to learn that members of the group have known financial links to the vaccine manufacturers.

"When the group was formed, Scotland’s leading experts in the field of vaccination and autism research were omitted. After strong representations to the [then] health minister, Susan Deacon ... two have since been invited to attend, Dr Ken Aitken and Dr Gordon Bell.

"The fact that they were initially disregarded speaks volumes. It may well be that this group was formed to confirm government policy, rather than to openly investigate the problems with MMR."

Prof Wakefield, an expert in bowel disease, was forced to quit London’s Royal Free Hospital because of his controversial research.

In 1998, he first suggested a link between autism and bowel disease - a theory backed by thousands of parents who say their children were developing normally but began to lose speech and play skills after the jab.

However, the Department of Health says "overwhelming" scientific evidence shows MMR is not linked to autism and is a safe and effective vaccine.

Tony Blair’s baby son, Leo, reportedly received the triple jab last week.

However, the Prime Minister has been criticised for refusing to confirm it.