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MMR doctor 'in a hurry' to link jab with autism
Anna Davis7 Aug 2008
The doctor behind the MMR scare was in such a hurry to prove a connection between the triple jab and autism that he "pushed" a colleague into seeking ethical approval to carry out experiments after they had been performed, the General Medical Council heard.
Professor John Walker-Smith told the hearing last night that Dr Andrew Wakefield, 51, was a "man in a hurry" and had a "strong conviction" he was correct.
Professor Walker-Smith, Dr Wakefield and Professor Simon Murch are said to have carried out invasive procedures including colonoscopies and lumbar punctures on 12 autistic children without ethical approval at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, between 1996 and 1997.
The resulting study, published in the Lancet in 1998, led to many parents rejecting the MMR vaccine.
Asked if Dr Wakefield had "pushed" him, Professor Walker-Smith said: "I think that's true. If we had not had any urgency to get on with it, we would not be in the muddle we are in now because we would have done it in the usual way by getting a referral. [Dr Wakefield] was a man in a hurry."
Dr Wakefield now works in child autism in Austin, Texas. He, Professor Walker-Smith, of Woodford, Essex, and Professor Murch, of Tooting, all deny serious professional misconduct.
The hearing continues.
