Cherie health guru who believes MMR jab is unnecessary

Daily Mail dec 26, 2001

THE controversy over Cherie Blair’s stance on MMR vaccinations deepened yesterday when It emerged that one of her favourite health gurus advises his patients the injections are unnecessary. Alternative therapist Jack Temple says babies who are breastfed from the moment of birth acquire natural immunity against all diseases.

He also offers a homoeopathic alternative to the MMR jab.

Mr Temple refused to confirm yesterday whether he advised Mrs Blair not to have her baby Leo vaccinated. But he said: ‘If women follow my advice their children will not need the MMR injection - end of story.’

Cherie and Tony Blair have defied pressure to say whether Leo, born In May last year has had the measles, mumps and rubella triple vaccine, which has been linked to autism and bowel problems.

Mr Blair stonewalled after being interrogated on the issue during Prime Minister’s question time.

As the row simmered on, 16 Labour MP’s and one minister, 14 Conservatives, and four MPs from other parties, made it public that their children had had the jab. Two Conservatives revealed that their children had not.

Others have been ordered to toe the Downing Street line and stay silent, including the health department team responsible for promoting MMR.

In a bid to end the controversy, the Premier released a statement at the weekend saying he and Cherie ‘entirely support’ the jab.

But he still failed to reveal whether Leo had had It.

He lashed out at his Interrogators, saying it was ‘offensive beyond belief’ to suggest he was being hypocritical.

There was speculation earlier this week that Leo had not yet had the injection, which Is normally given to children aged between 12 and 15 months, because he was suffering from a cold at the time, and that the couple intended him to have It at a later date.

Mr Temple, 84, who runs a clinic in West Byfleet, Surrey, has treated and advised Mrs Blair for at least six years and she Is said to follow his advice to the letter.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘I tell all my patients who are pregnant that when the baby is born they must put it on the breast until there is no longer a pulse In the umbilical cord. It usually takes about 30 minutes.

‘By doing this they transfer the mother’s Immune system to the baby, who will then have a fully-functioning immune system and will not need vaccines. ‘The sooner the cord is cut, the more the baby’s immune system Is deficient and the more likely it is to get diseases and other health problems in later life. The evidence for this has been built up over many years. For children who have been born by caesarean section, or those who have not been breastfed immediately after birth, I offer an energy-giving homeopathic remedy which eliminates the need for vaccines.’

Mrs Blair gave birth to Leo naturally and took pride In the fact that she breastfed him.

Asked if he had advised her against the MMR jab, Mr Temple said: ‘I never discuss individual patients.’

This Is not strictly true. In 1996 he talked at length about the treatments he had given Sarah Ferguson, who called him a ‘miracle-worker’, though he had been given permission by her to discuss her problems. Mr Temple was credited with curing Mrs Blair’s swollen ankles five years ago.

Other clients have included Jerry Hall, who described his sessions .as ‘a life-enhancing. experience’, Prince Andrew and Princess Diana.

Since 1988 when the MMR replaced the three single vaccines, parents of 1,600 children have registered claims that it has caused some form of brain or gastroenteritic damage. Just 45 cases of vaccine-related harm were registered between 1961 and 1988, when jabs were given separately.

Despite this, a number of Government-commissioned studies have concluded that there is no link between the jab and autism or bowel disorders.

In the U.S., a compensation scheme for patients damaged by injections h aid out more than £97million to children adversely affected by MMR. The fund was provided by ‘taxing’ drug companies according to the estimated risk of the jab.

MMR was ‘taxed’ at $4.44 a jab, compared with $0.29 for the polio vaccine and $0.06 for the combined diptheria and tetanus Injection.

An estimated 250 million doses of MMR have been given to babies and toddlers in the U.S.