A British MP has called for an independent inquiry into controversial research linking the MMR triple vaccine for infants to autism, after a medical journal said it should never have published the 1998 study.
The Lancet said it had learned of a "fatal conflict of interest" with the researcher at the centre of the study, which led some parents to reject a combined vaccine for mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) because of suspected links to autism and bowel disease.
Fears over the single inoculation MMR led to a steep drop in the number of British children being vaccinated, and has been blamed for outbreaks of measles.
Despite reassurances from the government and leading doctors, many British parents demanded to be given the choice between the single-dose vaccine and giving their children three separate jabs to protect against the diseases.
Richard Horton, the editor of the Lancet, told BBC news it had learned of a "fatal conflict of interest" concerning researcher Dr Andrew Wakefield.
The journal said Dr Wakefield had not told Lancet editors he was also carrying out a study for the Legal Aid Board on behalf of parents who believed the vaccine had harmed their children.
"In my view, if we had known the conflict of interest Dr Wakefield had in this work, I think that would have strongly affected the peer reviewers about the credibility of this work, and in my judgement it would have been rejected," Mr Horton said.
Dr Wakefield told the BBC on Friday he stood behind his findings. "They have now been confirmed independently by reputable physicians and pathologists."
However, a Liberal Democrat MP on Saturday called for a wider inquiry into the research and why it was published.
"Those involved will not be able to clear their names without there being an independent inquiry, because the Lancet can't really investigate itself," Mr Evan Harris MP told Sky News. - (Reuters)