Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Reviews Book

MMR: Science and Fiction. Exploring the Vaccine Crisis; MMR and Autism: What Parents Need to Know

BMJ 2004; 329 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.329.7473.1049 (Published 28 October 2004) Cite this as: BMJ 2004;329:1049

Rapid Response:

Re: trolling or obfuscation

Sir

I would very much welcome Midgley's explanation, with sufficient
factual evidence, to show how he arrives at the opinion shown by his
statement:-

"If someone holding themselves out as an expert witness says that a
paper supports a conclusion, then the judge does not expect on reading it
to find that it in fact supports the opposite conclusion. This is the
situation the judge remarked on, adversely, and which has resulted in
further investigation".

I am of the opinion that the problems Dr Donegan faced in that court
were far more complex, and my own response alludes to that fact, than
Midgley would have us believe through his oversimplifications.

Regards

John H.

Competing interests:
None declared

Competing interests: No competing interests

10 November 2004
John P. Heptonstall
Director of The Morley Acupuncture Clinic and Complementary Therapy Centre. TCM Practitioner
LS27 8EG