Who is Andrew Wakefield, what was the MMR vaccine autism scandal and how is the doctor linked to Donald Trump?
Controversial medic's findings were dismissed by health chiefs in 2010
CONTROVERSIAL doctor Andrew Wakefield is back in the UK seven years since he was struck off as a medic.
The 60-year-old was found to have wrongly claimed there was a link between the MMR jab and autism. Here's what we know about Wakefield.
Who is Andrew Wakefield?
British doctor Wakefield make headlines around the globe in 1998 when he claimed a link between the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism.
His findings - published in medical journal The Lancet - are believed to have led to widespread concerns among parents giving their children the jab.
The Lancet retracted the story in 2010 after Wakefield's article was found to have been "dishonest" by the General Medical Council.
He was later struck off before the story was declared fraudulent by the British Medical Journal in 2011.
What was the MMR vaccine autism scandal?
Controversy surrounded the 1998 study by Dr Wakefield.
The NHS says: "MMR is a safe and effective combined vaccine that protects against three separate illnesses – measles, mumps and rubella (German measles) – in a single injection.
"Subsequent studies in the last eight years have found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism or bowel disease."
How is the doctor linked to Donald Trump?
Dispatches on Channel 4 looked at the role played by the disgraced British doctor in Donald Trump's administration in 2017.
Reporter Cathy Newman asked whether the President's opinions on autism had been shaped by Wakefield's views on the topic.
It is reported Wakefield claims to have reinvented himself and now has the ear of the President of the United States.
The two men are said to have met in August 2017 with Trump believing that combined vaccines cause brain disorders.
Despite no credible scientific evidence to support Trump’s views the President has tweeted more than 20 times linking multiple or combined vaccines with autism since 2012.
What is Vaxxed?
Wakefield has since come back fighting and has directed the film Vaxxed - claiming a cover-up to discredit links between MMR and autism.
During his time away from the UK he became a vocal conspiracy theorist and claimed support for his MMR theory from Hollywood star Robert de Niro.
Vaxxed was pulled from a number of film festivals - including the prestigious Tribeca event - since its release and has been widely panned by critics.
Oxford academic David Robert Grimes told : “Wakefield is a long-debunked fear merchant whose attempt to paint himself as a Galileo-like figure is at once completely narcissistic and utterly dishonest."
In 2017, he spoke at an event held at London's Regent's University where his film was premiered under a cloak of secrecy.
The university severed ties with the Centre for Homeopathic Education after discovering they had hired the premises without disclosing Wakefield's name or the nature of the event.
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Who is he dating?
On July 13, 2018, Wakefield was pictured kissing 54-year-old model Elle Macpherson at Glaser's organic farm in Miami.
Wakefield, 61, separated from his wife Carmel in 2017 and began dating Macpherson months later after meeting at an event in Orlando.
Macpherson divorced billionaire Jeffrey Soffer a year ago, and was awarded $53million in cash and a $26million home as part of her settlement.
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