9

Expert in What?
The First Expert Witness for the Prosecution

September 27th to October 3rd

The social network beyond the hearing - the medical establishment, the government and the pharmaceutical corporation - used the two week suspension to good effect, taking the opportunity to make a number of statements about the guilt of Dr Wakefield. It sometimes crossed my mind to wonder why the medical establishment and the government don’t simply announce the guilt of the three doctors, without all this legal palaver; after all, everyone in the country knows that Dr Wakefield is guilty, even if they can’t quite remember what of.

During the recess, the JCVI took the opportunity to announce their decision to look at the possibility of adding chickenpox vaccine to MMR.  This announcement was not only a great opportunity to enforce the obvious point that multiple vaccines were perfectly safe but also to rubbish Dr Wakefield and his ‘discredited’ idea that MMR is solely responsible for every case of autism in the known world (authors sarcasm).

The idea of the inclusion of chickenpox vaccine was floated on the usual raft of the numbers of deaths caused by this viral illness. No illness is too insubstantial to be called into the service of the vaccination programme. One hopes that when, some time in the near future, Big Pharma introduces its vaccination for male pattern baldness, with the argument that this disfiguring illness kills thousands of men and women annually, the British public might wake from its somnambulist trance. As one of the papers remarked:

"Chickenpox is a highly contagious virus. It is effects are usually mild in children. However, it is more serious for adults and can sometimes be fatal. It causes about 20 adult deaths in England and Wales each year."

One of the major concerns, according to the media, was that the vaccine could cause shingles later in life when the body's naturally immunity weakens. It was also suggested that certain groups have already argued that children are at risk of being 'over-vaccinated' and that their immune system can be overwhelmed. Anonymous ‘doctors’, however, speaking through the media ‘reassured patients that this is almost impossible’; which is a bit like almost being a safe pedestrian but being knocked down and killed by a car.

Even the most ardent critic of conspiracy theory might have been set thinking by the comments offered on the Radio 4 ‘Today’ programme by Sir David King, the Chief Scientific Adviser to the government. After talking about the vaccination programme and the possibility of joining a fourth viral strain to MMR, King injudiciously made the point that Dr Wakefield’s ideas have been discredited and that he was guilty of research misconduct.

Inevitably there was no mention of King’s conflicts of interest, or of his various connections. King is a member of the Science Advisory Group of the Science and Media Centre, the organisation set up by the rabid rationalists Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick (ex-revolutionary communist) and Lord Dick Tavern (the pharmaceutical company lobbyist, insurance sales-man and ‘political’ buddy of millionaire Lord Sainsbury (New Labour benefactor and ex-science Tzar). The Science Advisory Group is directly funded by, amongst other sources, the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industries (ABPI). King is also closely linked to the Royal Society, which despite its fabulous historical reputation has been completely overtaken by mercenary commercial interests which have made science in contemporary British society resemble a flea market run by the Russian Mafia.

These are the same people who destroyed the professional life of Dr Arpad Pusztai the Rowett Institute researcher, whose research concluded that genetically modified potatoes damaged the health of mice fed on them. A full scale campaign of lies distortion and planted stories was run by Royal Society members, guided by staff under the instruction of Lord Sainsbury at that time head of science policy and a major figure in the bio-genetic industry who had tried to introduce Monsanto’s genetically engineered crops into Britain without any public discussion.

(http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=1132)

During his interview on the ‘Today’ programme, King suggested not only that Dr Wakefield was guilty, but that the Royal Society had long had a code of ethics for scientists which covered the declaration of conflicting or vested interests.

What King did not make clear, was that this code of ethics had only been launched in 2007, a good ten years after the events presently being mulled over by the GMC. Nor did he explain the aetiology of this code, which was actually helped on its way by those with commercial and ideological interests at the Royal Society.

The Royal Society has, over the last decade, been keen to adopt new regulatory codes in relation to science, such as the code of practice drawn up to stop non-scientists commenting on science in the media. This little gem attempts to ban personal stories about illnesses, therapies or medicines and rules that medicine and health might only be discussed in terms of double-blind, placebo-controlled trials and written up by scientists, or science journalists. If you have ever wondered why, in 1996, 1997 and 1998, British newspapers were full of the personal stories of adverse reactions to MMR while now, ten years on, it is almost impossible to draw attention to the condition of the MMR children, you need think no further than this regulatory code (See Brave New World of Zero Risk).

The idea for developing such a universal  ethical code of conduct for scientists came out of a 2004 Carnegie meeting - a regular informal meeting of science ministers and advisers from G8 countries - and was moved forward in Britain by Sir David King and the Council for Science and Technology (CST), the UK Government's advisory body on science and technology policy issues. Discussion at the Royal Society resulted in their report ‘Rigour, respect and responsibility: a universal ethical code for scientists’, and in January 2006, the CST published the findings of its consultation. The Code was officially unveiled at National Science Week in March in 2006.

The idea that this code of conduct is universal and will apply to pharmaceutical companies, should be used as one of the main jokes in the next red nose day. Especially as this charity raises money for Africa, a continent very close to the hearts of many pharmaceutical companies.

Headlines announcing the code trumpeted, ‘Code Sets Out to Regulate Science’. It called, news reports said, for rigour, honesty and integrity among scientists, who should take steps to prevent corrupt practices and professional misconduct and declare conflicts of interest. Scientists should ensure that their work is lawful and justified, and they should ‘minimise and justify any adverse effect’ their work may have on people, animals and the natural environment. Which, when you think about it, is a load of bunkum.

Not only do pharmaceutical and chemical companies kill, maim and torture millions of animals in toxicity trials, but it is generally recognised that pharmaceutical drugs are still going through extended experimentation when they are prescribed to the public. On top of this, pharmaceutical companies are entitled to keep secret their trial documentation in order to safeguard the competitive profitability of their products. And what does the code say about giving legal protection and financial rewards to whistle blowers in industry?

On 13 March 2007, ‘following a successful pilot among Government scientists’, Sir David King issued a challenge to the rest of Government and the wider scientific community to adopt the Code.

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