MMR row doctor showed 'callous disregard' for children's suffering

The doctor at the centre of the MMR row "showed a callous disregard" for the suffering of children and subjected some youngsters to unnecessary tests, the General Medical Council (GMC) ruled today.

Dr Andrew Wakefield "abused his position of trust" as he researched a possible link between the MMR vaccine, bowel disease and autism.

He also brought the medical profession "into disrepute" after he took blood samples from children at his son's birthday party in return for £5 payments.

The doctor, who was not at the hearing but spoke outside the GMC offices minutes after the ruling, said he was "extremely disappointed" by the outcome of today's proceedings.

He and two colleagues involved in the research, Professors John Walker-Smith and Simon Murch, face being struck off if they are found guilty of serious professional misconduct at a later date.

He said: "The allegations against me and against my colleagues are both unfounded and unjust - I repeat unfounded and unjust - and I invite anyone to examine the contents of these proceedings and come to their own conclusion."

He went on: "It remains for me to thank the parents whose commitment and loyalty has been extraordinary.

"I want to reassure them that science will continue in earnest."

Health experts said they hoped the ruling would boost MMR vaccination rates, which are currently below the level needed for widespread immunity.

Panel chairman Dr Surendra Kumar was heckled by distraught parents who support Dr Wakefield, now based in the US, as he delivered the verdicts in central London this afternoon.

One woman shouted: "These doctors have not failed our children. You are outrageous."

She called the panel of experts "b*******" and accused the GMC of being a "kangaroo court".

Another supporter shouted: "This is a set-up."

The GMC ruled Dr Wakefield "failed in his duties as a responsible consultant" and went against the interests of children in his care in conducting research.

He further acted dishonestly and was misleading and irresponsible in the way he described a study on children which was published in The Lancet medical journal in 1998.

The research sparked a massive drop in the number of children given the triple jab for measles, mumps and rubella.

The GMC ruled that Dr Wakefield, whose contract prevented him from carrying out clinical research on youngsters, had not acted in the children's best clinical interests.

He ordered some youngsters to undergo unnecessary colonoscopies, lumbar punctures (spinal taps), barium meals, blood and urine tests and brain scans.

Some of the tests were carried out by Professors Walker-Smith and Murch.

The GMC said the children did not meet the criteria for inclusion in the research and that the doctors did not have ethical approval to investigate them.

The panel heard Dr Wakefield later took blood from his son's friends at the birthday party and joked about it during a US presentation in March 1999.

Dr Kumar said of Dr Wakefield's case: "Despite your explanation that you did not consider it unethical to obtain blood in this way, the panel found that it was unethical and that you did not have ethical approval for such an undertaking.

"It also found that you caused blood to be taken in an inappropriate social setting and you showed a callous disregard for the distress and pain you knew or ought to have known the children involved might suffer.

"You abused your position of trust as a medical practitioner."

Dr Wakefield was an honorary consultant in experimental gastroenterology at London's Royal Free Hospital at the time of his research.

He was found guilty today of submitting an application for funding from the Legal Aid Board but failing to disclose that some of the costs would have been met by the NHS anyway.

The GMC panel said Dr Wakefield's actions in relation to the money were "dishonest" and that he knew some or most of the funds would not be used for the reasons he had set out.

However, it said he did not use the money for his personal gain and it was spent on research.

A decision on serious professional misconduct, and any sanctions, are not expected for a matter of months.

The GMC hearing has sat for 148 days over a two-and-a-half year period at a reported cost of more than £1 million.

Dr Shona Hilton, of the Medical Research Council, said: "We need to continue rebuilding trust with parents that MMR vaccination is safe and ensure that those parents caring for children with autism do not blame themselves."

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb said: "The critical thing now is to rebuild public confidence and finally lay to rest the suggestion that children's health is at risk from this vaccine."