Now tell us the MMR jab is safe

IF ever the Government needed clear and irrefutable evidence that their foolishly single-minded MMR policy was wrong then little Levi Ellis is it.

It is bad enough ministers dodge the question of parental choice and the suspected links to autism, without their prolonged and arrogant assurance that the jab is 100 per cent risk-free.

As Levi so clearly proves the controversial inoculation for Measles, Mumps and Rubella is potentially unstable and unpredictable.

The three-year-old fell into a coma just days after having the jab. Her mum Cheryl now admits she is riddled with guilt, believing her daughter's asthma triggered the serious side-effects.

"If I could go back in time there is no way I would have let Levi have the injection," she told the YEP last night.

That would have left her daughter, who is now recovering from her horrific experience, open to the possibility of contracting measles.

That is quite clearly a terrible situation for any parent to find themselves in. Our children need to be protected against such life-threatening illnesses, but with so many question marks still hanging over MMR there are an increasing number deciding to take their chances.

The uptake for the triple jab is a woefully low 80 per cent in West Yorkshire. This is children's lives we are talking about.

Until this Government presents irrefutable medical evidence backing up their claims that MMR is 100 per cent safe, or gives parents the right to choose to have single jabs, this dreadful situation will continue.

Little Levi Ellis was very lucky to escape with her life, but how many more will not because their parents are caught amidst an impossible dilemma?

It is time for the Government to give parents the facts, and at the very least a choice.

United by joy or dejection

SO here we go again. Four years after the nation's dreams turned to heartache we once again jump on the emotional rollercoaster that is the World Cup.

Whether you love it or loathe it, there is nothing quite like a football tournament to bring the country together, be that in joy or dejection.

Whatever happens over the next week or month you can bet on one thing – England will be united.