Times’ Group Journo Costs GMC £1M – But Blames MMR Doc!

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In a feat of contortionism unique to journalists, “David Rose” in The Times, London today blames  the £1 million cost of the UK General Medical Council proceedings against Dr Andrew Wakefield on – Dr Wakefield [Case against Dr Andrew Wakefield, who linked MMR and autism, to cost over £1m - David Rose - The Times - March 16, 2009].

But detailed disclosures published yesterday showed the likely unnecessary cost of the UK General Medical Council proceedings against Dr Andrew Wakefield is the result of false stories and a campaign of false complaints to the GMC over several years by sister paper, The Sunday Times’ freelance journalist Brian Deer whilst Deer was reporting on the story with this undeclared significant and unethical conflict of interest: [Sunday Times’ MMR Lies Nailed At Last - Editor Witherow Should Resign].

[The Times' "David Rose" is not the award winning journalist and author David Rose, of  Observer, BBC Panorama, Guardian, Mail on Sunday, Vanity Fair etc fame, has been requested but failed to add a middle initial to endeavour to avoid confusion with the "real" David Rose and looks unlikely to be winning any awards if this story is anything to judge from.]

The GMC proceedings are closely based on allegations made by Deer in formal written complaints to the GMC over several years and relate to 1998 published Royal Free Hospital investigations revealing a possible link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

Observers of the legal proceedings believe the GMC Panel may have difficulty finding a basis on which to found a conviction against Dr Wakefield and there are numerous anomalies linking several establishment figures in the witchhunt against Dr Wakefield:

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A direct commercial relationship between drug maker and MMR manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline and James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch and overall boss of The Sunday Times and The Times was recently announced, specifically for the purpose of protecting the name and reputation of Glaxo: [Brian Deer’s Boss Joins MMR Manufacturer Glaxo’s Board ].  Murdoch will serve as a member of GSK’s corporate responsibility committee, where he will help to review “external issues that might have the potential for serious impact upon the group’s business and reputation“:[James Murdoch takes GlaxoSmithKline role - Chris Tryhorn The Guardian Monday 2 February 2009.]

Some wags have now dubbed the newspaper “The Sunday Glaxo”. There is speculation that today’s new line from The Times could be to divert blame for a potential debacle from those responsible should Wakefield, Dr Murch and Professor Walker-Smith be acquitted.

James Murdoch took up his appointment alongside Sir Crispin Davis the CEO of The Lancet medical journal’s owners.  Sir Crispin is brother of Judge Nigel Davis whose English High Court judgement in February 2004 saw the end of  British children’s MMR vaccine injury claims [MMR Judge Faces Probe Over Brother's Links to Vaccine Firm - Evening Standard, London 9 May 2007].

The outcome of an investigation by the Office for Judicial Complaints  found no impropriety and resulted in no action taken regarding the relationship between Judge Davis and his brother Crispin Davis’ GlaxoSmithKline board position.  A statement issued on Judge Davis’ behalf to The Telegraph newspaper legal correspondent, Joshua Rosenberg stated that “the possibility of any conflict of interest had not occurred to him“. Sir Crispin Davis received a knighthood in June 2004.

If James Murdoch is on Glaxo’s Board of Directors to protect it from adverse news stories, will it work with the Times’ stable of titles so closely implicated? Why is the GMC releasing adverse information to the media at this sensitive time?  And where is the rest of the British media including the BBC reporting on this and why does the public have to rely on the internet for reliable news on recent developments?

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