Bid to Albert Square the circle over MMR drama

BRIAN BRADY WESTMINSTER EDITOR

MILLIONS of pounds in advertising and dozens of health experts have been unable to spread the word.

Even a personal assurance from Tony Blair has failed to convince parents that it is safe to give their toddlers the triple MMR jab.

Now, in the latest in an increasingly desperate campaign, Phil Mitchell and Dot Cotton are being recruited to the cause.

Scotland on Sunday has learned that drug company owners – including a controversial Labour donor – are putting BBC scriptwriters under pressure to incorporate the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine debate into EastEnders.

The companies believe the tug-of-love drama over Albert Square's newest arrival offers the ideal vehicle for a modern-day public information film.

After the real-life 'has he or hasn't he?' pantomime over whether baby Leo Blair has had the jab, viewers could be plunged into a cliffhanger over Lisa Shaw's new-born daughter, Louise.

EastEnders has a track record of tackling controversial issues including incest and drug abuse, and one option now under consideration is an informative on-screen row over the MMR issue between the baby's natural father, Phil Mitchell, and Mark Fowler, Lisa's boyfriend.

The move has been dreamt up by a clutch of pharmaceutical firms led by Paul Drayson, the boss of Powderject, who gave £50,000 to Labour.

It also reveals widespread anxiety over the Government's campaign to convince parents that the MMR jab is safe.

"It is good to get controversial topics on the agenda and this type of thing is being considered," confirmed a spokeswoman for the Bioindustry Association, the drug company trade group chaired by Drayson.

"It is not something that is being done just yet, but in the broader context of the MMR vaccination, it is an approach we support.

Last month the government rubber-stamped a multi-million pound advertising campaign in an effort to kill the 'myth' that the MMR jab could trigger autism in some children.

Ministers refuse to accept the allegations, put forward in a study by Dr Andrew Wakefield, but they accept they have so far failed to get their message across.

The new campaign will start by outlining the case for MMR in an open letter setting out the case for MMR being sent to all 12,000 GP surgeries in England and Wales and 24,000 other health bodies, followed by advertisements on radio and television and in the press.

Health workers will then target all remaining unvaccinated children aged 18-21 months by inviting their parents to talk to them about the jab.

However, some officials in Whitehall and in the drugs industry are unconvinced the approach will boost take-up rates – and head off a possible measles epidemic.

A senior Department of Health insider said: "The biggest problem we have had is in getting people to listen to our view, so I can see how this free publicity could help.

"But if it did get on to the programme, there is no guarantee that EastEnders would be sending out the 'MMR is safe' message. We can't force them to say what we want."

An EastEnders spokesman said: "We regularly consider various medical issues to be featured in our story lines. However, we base our stories around characters and not issues."