A SCIENTIST from the North-East has attacked the Government for its failure to properly investigate a vaccine scare.

Paul Shattock, director of the Autism Research Unit at Sunderland University, said the Department of Health had let down the parents of autistic children by failing to adequately examine the claim that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine was linked to the developmental childhood disease.

He said UK figures collected by the Wearside unit suggested that there had been a tenfold increase in autism cases in the past decade.

"The increases are so frightening we should be terrified about the numbers coming through," said Mr Shattock.

But despite the increases recorded by reputable organisations, such as the Medical Research Council, there was still inaction at the top, he said.

"The Department of Health has betrayed us. They have not investigated it in the way they should. Instead, they have spent £3m on propaganda," said Mr Shattock, who is also vice-president of the World Autism Organisation.

Mr Shattock's unit is looking at a range of environmental factors which may be responsible for the sharp increase in autism cases in the UK.

He said the Government had failed to properly investigate the claims of a link between the triple vaccine and autism made by independent scientists.

"We believe there is strong evidence that the MMR vaccine is the cause. The claims should be investigated seriously - and they haven't ," he said.

The Sunderland team is studying pesticides, traffic pollution, dietary changes and vaccines as possible causes of increased autism levels.

A spokesman for the Department of Health insisted that the vaccination was safe.

"A number of studies carried out worldwide have failed to find a link between autism and MMR. We believe MMR is safe and it continues to be the recommended vaccine for children," he said.