These allegations have been made
by journalist Brian Deer who has expressed,
in front of witnesses, his aim of destroying
me.
All but one of the allegations,
which are grossly defamatory, have been shown
to be baseless. One allegation remains
against me personally.
That is, that I did not disclose
to the Lancet that a minority of the 12
children in the 1998 Lancet report were also
part of a quite separate study that was
funded in part by the Legal Aid Board.
It is the Lancet's opinion but
not mine that such a disclosure should have
been made since it may have been perceived as
a conflict of interest. This is despite that
fact that the funding was provided for a
separate scientific study.
It needs to be made clear that
the funds from the Legal Aid Board were not
used for the 1998 Lancet study, and therefore
I perceived that no financial conflict of
interest existed.
The Lancet defines a conflict of
interest as anything that might embarrass the
author if it were to be revealed later. I am
not embarrassed since it is a matter of fact
that there was no conflict of interest. I am,
however, dismayed at the way these facts have
been misrepresented.
Whether or not the children's
parents were pursuing, or intended to pursue
litigation against the vaccine manufacturers,
had no bearing on any clinical decision in
relation to these children, or their
inclusion in the Lancet 1998 report.
It is a matter of fact that
there was no conflict of interest at any time
in relation to the medical referral of these
children, their clinical investigation and
care, and the subsequent reporting of their
disease in the Lancet.
As far as the 1998 Lancet report
is concerned, it is a matter of fact that we
found and reported inflammation in the
intestines of these children.
The grant of £55,000 was paid
not me but to the Royal Free Hospital Special
Trustees for my research group to conduct
studies on behalf of the Legal Aid Board.
These research funds were properly
administered through the Royal Free Hospital
Special Trustees.
The Legal Aid research grant to
my group was used exclusively for the purpose
of conducting an examination of any possible
connection between the component viruses of
the MMR - particularly measles virus - and
the bowel disease in these children.
This is entirely in line with
other studies that have been funded by the
Legal Aid Board (latterly the Legal Services
Commission) and reported in the BMJ.
If and when this work is finally
published, due acknowledgement will be made
of all sources of funding.
It is unfortunate that,
following full disclosure of these facts to
the editor of the Lancet, he stated that in
retrospect he would not have published facts
pertinent to the parent's perceived
association with MMR vaccine in the 1998
Lancet report. Such a position has major
implications for the scientific investigation
of injuries that might be caused by drugs or
vaccines, such as Gulf War Syndrome and
autism, where possible victims may be seeking
medical help and also legal redress.
Health Secretary John Reid has
called for a public enquiry. I welcome this
since I have already called for a public
enquiry that addresses the whole issue in
relation vaccines and autism.
It has been proposed that my
role in this matter should be investigated by
the General Medical Council (GMC). I not only
welcome this, I insist on it and I will be
making contact with the GMC personally, in
the forthcoming week.
This whole unpleasant episode
has been conflated to provide those opposed
to addressing genuine concerns about vaccine
safety with an opportunity of attacking me -
an attack that is out of all proportion to
the facts of the matter.
I stand by everything that I
have done in relation to the care,
investigation and reporting of the disease
that I and my colleagues have discovered in
these desperately ill children.
My family and I have suffered
many setbacks as a direct consequence of this
work.
As a family, we consider that
our problems are nothing compared with the
suffering of these children and their
families. For the sake of these children,
this work will continue.