Natalie Morton died from a large and previously undetected tumour in her chest that could have killed her at any moment and not from a cervical cancer jab, an inquest was told yesterday.

The 14-year-old girl collapsed suddenly on Monday shortly after being given the vaccine as part of a national immunisation campaign.

Caron Grainger, joint director of public health for NHS Coventry and the city’s council, told Coventry Magistrates’ Court: “The pathologist has confirmed at the opening of the inquest into the death of Natalie Morton that she died from a large malignant tumour of unknown origin in the heart and lungs.

“There is no indication that the HPV vaccine, which she had received shortly before her death, was a contributing factor to the death, which could have arisen at any point.”

Natalie, a pupil at Blue Coat Church of England School in Coventry, was given the Cervarix vaccine, which protects against the human papilloma virus (HPV), a main cause of cervical cancer. Schools across the country had postponed or cancelled their vaccination clinics as the batch of up to 200,000 doses of Cervarix used at the school and distributed throughout England and Scotland was quarantined after the death. The Department of Health said that the national programme was now continuing with fresh supplies of vaccine from the manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline.

Dr Grainger added: “We hope that this news will reassure parents that the vaccine is safe and that they should continue to encourage their daughters to be protected against cervical cancer. The HPV vaccination programme will continue as planned in the city from Monday.”

Gillian Merron, the Public Health Minister, said: “Evidence from the coroner is absolutely clear that the vaccine did not cause Natalie’s death. My heartfelt sympathies remain with the family. I hope that they may now privately grieve the tragic loss.”

The Cervarix jab has been given to 1.4million pupils in England as part of a campaign to inoculate all girls aged 12-18 by the end of next year.

Some form of cancer is diagnosed each year in about 1,500 children and teenagers and nearly a quarter of all deaths among children aged 5 to 14 in England and Wales were recorded as being caused by cancer in 2000-02. According to Cancer Research UK, 267 girls in this age group in England and Wales died from cancer in 2002.

A Department of Health spokesman said yesterday: “We have been clear all along that there is no reason to suspend HPV immunisation. The programme against cervical cancer continues today.

“Some areas may have minor interruptions to the immunisation programme because they do not have sufficient stock of vaccine. This is a temporary situation. We have one of the most successful immunisation programmes in the world and have great confidence in the safety of them.”

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