One of Dr Horton's greatest feats, of course, was to succeed in
giving prosecution evidence against Andrew Wakefield at the GMC hearing
having already advised them about how to bring about a prosecution in
order to please the Secretary of State for Health:
"Indeed, the GMC seemed non-plussed by Reid's [John Reid, the Health
Secretary] intervention. The best their spokeswoman could say was: 'We are
concerned by these allegations and will be looking at what action, if any,
may be necessary.' In truth, they had not a clue where to begin. At a
dinner I attended on 23 February [2004 - the day after Brian Deer's first
Sunday Times article], one medical regulator and I discussed the Wakefield
case. He seemed unsure of how the Council could play a useful part in
resolving the confusion. As we talked over coffee while the other dinner
guests were departing, he scribbled down some possible lines of
investigation, and passed me his card, suggesting that I contact him
directly if anything sprang to mind. He seemed keen to pursue Wakefield,
especially given ministerial interest. Here was professionally led
regulation of doctors in action - notes exchanged over liqueurs in a
beautifully pannelled room of one of medicine's most venerable
institutions."
Rapid Response:
Re: Reckless?
My sympathy to Prof Ernst.
One of Dr Horton's greatest feats, of course, was to succeed in
giving prosecution evidence against Andrew Wakefield at the GMC hearing
having already advised them about how to bring about a prosecution in
order to please the Secretary of State for Health:
"Indeed, the GMC seemed non-plussed by Reid's [John Reid, the Health
Secretary] intervention. The best their spokeswoman could say was: 'We are
concerned by these allegations and will be looking at what action, if any,
may be necessary.' In truth, they had not a clue where to begin. At a
dinner I attended on 23 February [2004 - the day after Brian Deer's first
Sunday Times article], one medical regulator and I discussed the Wakefield
case. He seemed unsure of how the Council could play a useful part in
resolving the confusion. As we talked over coffee while the other dinner
guests were departing, he scribbled down some possible lines of
investigation, and passed me his card, suggesting that I contact him
directly if anything sprang to mind. He seemed keen to pursue Wakefield,
especially given ministerial interest. Here was professionally led
regulation of doctors in action - notes exchanged over liqueurs in a
beautifully pannelled room of one of medicine's most venerable
institutions."
[1] Richard Horton, 'MMR Science & Fiction: Exploring the Vaccine
Crisis, Granta Books 2004 p.7-8,
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/329/7473/1049#83447
Competing interests:
Autistic son
Competing interests: No competing interests