by: Ethan A. Huff
(NaturalNews) The U.K. General Medical Council's (GMC) rash and unfounded decision to strike Professor John Walker-Smith, who had helped Dr. Andrew Wakefield in treating desperately-ill children with regressive autism symptoms and severe gastrointestinal problems, off the medical register for alleged "professional misconduct" has been exposed as a fraud. During a recent High Court appeal, Mr. Justice Mitting ruled that Prof. Walker-Smith's striking "cannot stand" because of serious misconduct in the way GMC handled the case against him, and that the entire council needs to be reformed.
Prof. Walker-Smith had been head of the department of pediatric gastroenterology at the Royal Free Hospital (RFH) in London where Dr. Wakefield was making observations about children's health that would later be published, and retracted, by The Lancet. During this time, Prof. Walker-Smith was helping to treat these suffering children, the parents of whom had directly approached both him and Dr. Wakefield for help after being ignored by their own general practitioners.
"There has been a great burden on me and my family since the allegations were first made in 2004 and throughout the hearing that ran from 2007 to 2010," said Prof. Walker-Smith in a recent statement about the case. "I am relieved that this matter is now over."
Since GMC's handling of the entire case has been proven fraudulent, it is now Dr. Wakefield's turn to be exonerated
Mr. Justice Mitting's scathing indictment of GMC's unprofessional and dishonest handling of the Dr. Wakefield case is telling, as it once again calls into question the legitimacy of any of the claims made against Dr. Wakefield and his colleagues concerning their observational, peer-reviewed study. It only further reinforces what has already come to light about the blatant fraud that is the continued witch hunt against Dr. Wakefield for his independent work.
"The welcome decision to exonerate Prof. Walker-Smith is a clear indication that the GMC's case against the Royal Free doctors was manufactured to discredit any association between bowel disease, autism conditions and some of the parents' reported link to the MMR vaccine," writes Age of Autism. "The allegations leveled at Prof. Walker-Smith and the Royal Free team now have to be viewed with total skepticism as nothing more than a witch hunt by vested interests at the highest levels in government, media and the pharmaceutical industry."
This ruling will clearly bolster the efforts of Dr. Wakefield to vindicate his own reputation and career, including his recent lawsuit against Brian Deer, BMJ, and BMJ editor Fiona Godlee, all of which have repeatedly spread lies and slander about Dr. Wakefield and his paper.