A DOCTOR who has been helping parents who have
                                        concerns about MMR vaccination by prescribing
                                        alternative injections for their children has been ordered
                                        to appear before the General Medical Council and could
                                        be barred from medical practice.

                                        Peter Mansfield, a former GP who has been seeing up to
                                        70 families a time at twice-monthly private clinics in
                                        Worcestershire, was told last week that the council's rapid
                                        response Interim Orders Committee intended to consider
                                        his conduct because "it may pose an immediate risk to
                                        patient safety".

                                        The GMC's unprecedented action will reignite the
                                        controversy over the safety of the combined measles,
                                        mumps and rubella vaccination that researchers have
                                        said may be linked with childhood bowel disease and
                                        autism.

                                        It goes to the heart of the row over whether worried
                                        parents should be allowed to choose single measles,
                                        mumps and rubella vaccines for their children instead of
                                        the combined jab. The Department of Health has
                                        withdrawn single measles vaccine from the NHS, leaving a
                                        handful of private clinics, importing it on a named patient
                                        basis, as the only source for parents in Britain.

                                        The Interim Orders Committee of the GMC has the power
                                        to suspend a doctor's licence to practice for 18 months,
                                        impose restrictions and/or refer a case for a full hearing
                                        of the council.

                                        A decision against Dr Mansfield would make it difficult for
                                        any other doctor to continue to offer the three vaccines
                                        separately. The case, which threatens to become a cause
                                        celebre, has important implications because it challenges
                                        doctors' freedom to prescribe the medicines they believe
                                        to be best for their patients.

                                        Dr Mansfield told The Telegraph last night that he had
                                        asked for the GMC hearing, expected within the next few
                                        weeks, to be held in public. He said he would vigorously
                                        defend his right to prescribe the single vaccines to
                                        children where their parents wished it.

                                        He said: "I am prepared to go the distance. I wouldn't
                                        have got involved if I didn't feel strongly that doctors are
                                        making a mistake here. Parents have a point and are
                                        entitled to their opinion."

                                        The GMC's intervention follows a complaint from Brian
                                        McCloskey, director of public health for Worcester Health
                                        Authority, alleging that Dr Mansfield has been putting
                                        children "at risk" because his actions are "outside normal
                                        clinical practice" and against DoH advice.

                                        He urged the GMC in a letter to take quick action to stop
                                        Dr Mansfield's work with Desumo, a company set up by
                                        parents to provide single vaccines and which donates
                                        money to charities investigating vaccine safety.

                                        The row over MMR erupted three years ago but intensified
                                        earlier this year when Dr Andrew Wakefield of the Royal
                                        Free Hospital revealed he had seen 170 children with a
                                        new syndrome of digestive problems and autistic
                                        behaviour, the "majority" of whom had fallen ill after the
                                        triple jab. He suggested that the safest option was for
                                        children to be given the vaccines separately.

                                        His comments, in an exclusive interview with the
                                        Telegraph, outraged the medical establishment. The
                                        Department of Health dismissed the research as "bad
                                        science" and launched a £3 million campaign in January to
                                        reassure parents.

                                        Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, advised
                                        doctors that children should not be given separate
                                        measles, mumps and rubella vaccines in place of MMR
                                        because there was a "clear risk of harm".

                                        MMR vaccination rates have continued to fall - so much so
                                        that public health officials have warned that a measles
                                        outbreak could result. Meanwhile, parents groups argue
                                        that the department's stance on single vaccines has
                                        presented families with a very difficult choice: to accept
                                        MMR or leave their child unprotected against the illness.

                                        Dr Mansfield defended his conduct yesterday. "I advise
                                        parents who approach me of all the vaccination options
                                        available to them and detail all arguments for and
                                        against. I do not encourage parental concerns; these
                                        exist already, and deserve to be taken seriously," he
                                        said.

                                        "The people who have come to us have denied their
                                        children MMR, in some cases as long as three years ago.
                                        The single measles vaccine I am prescribing is the best
                                        available for someone who is unwilling to have MMR. The
                                        Department of Health's view is a denial of choice.

                                        "Giving parents no official option but MMR and pressuring
                                        them to accept it seems institutionally unprofessional -
                                        however, many professional bodies choose to endorse the
                                        practice."

                                        Debbie Ryding, Desumo's founder, said that 600 families
                                        from all over Britain had attended the clinics, held at a
                                        hired day centre, since May. She said: "We set it up
                                        because we felt that parents needed to be able to choose.
                                        They should have all the information and then take it from
                                        there. Worcestershire Health Authority knew we were
                                        going to be doing it because I told them myself."

                                        Parents attending the clinic pay £42 to register and
                                        receive an information pack. The cost of the vaccines is
                                        rubella, £35; measles, £50; and mumps, £45 - paid at the
                                        time of injection. Dr Mansfield provides telephone
                                        services for bookings and after care, but says he has no
                                        other financial interest in the company.

                                        Leading medical bodies in Britain and around the world,
                                        including the World Health Organisation, support the use
                                        of the combined MMR vaccination.