MMR doctor 'falsified records'

A doctor fiddled blood test results at his private clinic to trick parents into thinking their children had been immunised against measles, mumps or rubella, a court heard today.

David Pugh, 54, a specialist in autism, tried to pacify parents after concerns were raised about immunisation at the clinic near Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, St Albans Crown Court was told. Pugh, of Hoddesdon, Herts, denies eight counts of forgery. The clinic, the Elstree Aeromedical Centre, offered single immunisation jabs to parents worried by reports that the three-inone MMR jab could be linked to autism.

Today prosecutor Ian Wade told the jury it was not their job to analyse the rights and wrongs of the MMR injection or single jabs. "None of us can have escaped the public debate over MMR," he said. "If any elements of sympathy creep in put that out of your mind.

"It is no part of the Crown's case to suggest that any harm was done. It is a question of whether documentation has been falsified."

The Crown alleges that Pugh changed blood test results from a London laboratory to give the impression children had been successfully immunised when they had not and that he committed the offences because of commercial pressure.

Mr Wade said Pugh had been practising for more than 30 years and working in the private sector since 1985. His clinic treated 250 children a week, charged ?70 per jab and had a turnover of about ?17,500 a week.

It was alleged Pugh altered documents last year after the clinic came under pressure because of concerns about the quality of immunisation.

The trial continues.