Girl given MMR against parents' wishes

Health chiefs have been forced to apologise after a three-year-old girl was given the controversial MMR jab despite her parents refusing to allow her to be given the vaccine.

Stevie Hall was given the inoculation by a health worker during a visit to her nursery school

Her parents, Tim and Jane, believe she has been assaulted and are considering taking legal action against Leeds West Primary Care Trust.

Lilian Dalton, business support manager for Leeds West PCT, said: "It would appear that a member of our frontline staff made an honest, yet regrettable, mistake and Mr and Mrs Hall's daughter was given the immunisation without parental consent.

"We are currently reviewing our procedures to see if changes need to be made in order to avoid mistakes of this nature in the future.

Stevie was given the jab by a health worker who visited Whingate School in Armley, Leeds, on Monday, despite her parents signing a second form refusing their consent for the controversial vaccination after the original was misplaced.

Mr Hall, 43, of Armley, said: "This is an unbelievable disgrace. I was adamant that I did not want to take the risk of my daughter having the MMR jab because nobody really knows the risks."

The controversy over MMR has raged since The Lancet published research by Dr Andrew Wakefield which raised the possibility of a link between the combined measles, mumps and rubella jab and the onset of autism in children.

The Lancet has said it now regrets publishing the research, which saw uptake of the vaccine fall and led many parents to opt for single jabs to protect their children.