THE General Medical Council pledged yesterday to consider a full inquiry into the doctor whose controversial research linked the MMR jab to autism.

Andrew Wakefield, whose work claiming a link was last week rejected by The Lancet, said that he backed a GMC inquiry after defending his findings yesterday.

Dr Wakefield said that he would insist on a full GMC inquiry after it was suggested by John Reid, the Health Secretary, on Friday.

The Lancet admitted last Thursday that it should not have published Dr Wakefield’s research because it represented a “fatal conflict of interest”.

The 1998 study began a public health scare that led to a dramatic fall in the number of babies given the triple measles, mumps and rubella inoculation. Health experts fear that it could lead to an outbreak of measles in areas of low protection. Parts of London are especially vulnerable.

Richard Horton, Editor of The Lancet, said that he now regarded Dr Wakefield’s findings as “entirely flawed”. He said that Dr Wakefield had been working on a £55,000 study to see if there was evidence to support a legal action by parents claiming that the MMR jab had harmed their children at the same time as he was doing his research at the Royal Free Hospital in North London.

Dr Horton said that Dr Wakefield had breached The Lancet’s rules on potential conflicts of interest by failing to declare his work on the parents’ legal claim, which was funded by the Legal Aid Board. He said that he now believed that the MMR jab was “absolutely safe”.

Investigators for the GMC would speak to Dr Wakefield before deciding what action to take. A GMC spokeswoman said: “We are concerned by the allegations.”

Dr Wakefield, a consultant gastroenterologist, said yesterday: “Serious allegations have been made against me in relation to the provision of clinical care for children with autism and bowel disease, and the reporting of their disease. It has been proposed that my role in this matter should be investigated by the GMC. I not only welcome this, I insist on it and I will be making contact with the GMC personally.”

Evan Harris, the former Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said that Dr Reid’s call for an inquiry by the GMC did not go far enough and that there should be a wide-ranging independent investigation.

Dr Harris added: “The GMC can only look at the professional conduct of medically qualified people and not administrators, scientific researchers, publishers and those who staff research ethics committees. The GMC will not be able to look at the role played by the Legal Aid Board and cannot make recommendations.”

The Autism Research Campaign for Health, a group of parents campaigning for more research into the causes and treatment of autism, called for a public inquiry into the safety of the MMR jab. A statement said: “It is vital that . . . it examines the growing number of studies that are showing the presence of measles RNA in the blood, gut and spinal fluid of autistic children.”

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