Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

News

Wakefield was dishonest and irresponsible over MMR research, says GMC

BMJ 2010; 340 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c593 (Published 29 January 2010) Cite this as: BMJ 2010;340:c593

Rapid Response:

Mission accomplished

Brian Deer is satisfied.

Mr Deer, journalist for the Sunday Times and complainant in the case
of the Royal Free Three, is content: the job is done. [1] Richard Smith,
former editor of the BMJ, was quoted in Deer’s Sunday article,

“His career as a researcher is effectively over.” “Any journal to
which a researcher shown to be dishonest submitted a paper would reject
it.”

What Richard Smith didn’t say of course, is that Andrew Wakefield
will forever be unable to appear as an expert witness to provide
scientific support to children damaged by vaccines. And no other medical
scientist will ever dare to tread where Andrew Wakefield has bravely trod.

[1] ‘Callous, unethical and dishonest’: Dr Andrew Wakefield. Brian
Deer, The Sunday Times January 31, 2010.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article7009882.ece

Competing interests:
None declared

Competing interests: No competing interests

03 February 2010
Mark Struthers
GP and prison doctor
Bedfordshire, UK mark.struthers@which.net