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Blair
silent over Leo's MMR jab
By Sarah Womack, Political Correspondent
(Filed: 20/12/2001)
TONY BLAIR refused to tell parents yesterday whether he had
allowed his 18-month-old son Leo to be given the MMR vaccine.
Challenged in the Commons by Julie Kirkbride, the Tory MP
and mother of a 14-month-old boy, the Prime Minister said he would not
enter into a public discussion about the health of his children.
He expressed confidence, however, in the vaccination, saying
that guidelines, which advise parents to inoculate children with the
combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, were sound.
The Government was supported by the World Health
Organisation, the British Medical Association and other health bodies, he
said.
It is rare for Mr Blair to be asked questions about his
family during Prime Minister's Questions. But he has come under pressure to
disclose specific information about Leo amid concern that
the vaccine could be linked to autism and bowel disease.
Miss Kirkbride said: "I was disappointed that the Prime
Minister did not use the opportunity in the Commons to reinforce public
confidence in the vaccine.
"I can only assume that he has something to hide, which
is to say that little Leo has not had his jab."
Fears among parents about MMR are leading many to have their
young children vaccinated privately with separate jabs at a cost of almost
£200, or not at all.
Alan Milburn, the Health Secretary, and John Hutton and
Jacqui Smith, both health ministers have refused to say whether their
children have had the MMR jab.
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