Homeopath lobbies MEPs over jabs

Ms King has helped compile 1,000 cases of vaccine damage

A homeopath from East Sussex is travelling to Brussels to lobby MEPs to raise awareness of the possible side effect of vaccinations.

Lesley King, from Silver Hill, St Leonards, is a member of the European Forum for Vaccine Vigilance (EFVV), which includes doctors and parents.

She has helped to collect 1,000 case studies of people who have suffered adverse reactions to vaccinations.

The EFVV's report will be presented to MEPs at a meeting on Monday.

Immune system

Its case studies include people who have suffered side effects from all the common vaccines, including those given in childhood.

"They seem to result from a depletion of the immune system," she told BBC News.

"Whatever an individual's weak spot is, that is where the effects will manifest themselves."

Former binman Steven Harrison, from Brighton and former police forensics worker Sophie Howard, from Rochester in Kent, both claim their health was ruined by the hepatitis B vaccination.

They recently took their case for compensation to health minister Jane Kennedy at the Department of Health (DoH).

Sophie Howard first became ill after she had the jab eight years ago

Ms King said that nearly a dozen of EFVV's case studies involved the hepatitis B vaccine.

"We are finding a lot of chronic fatigue and rheumatoid arthritis with it," she said.

The Department of Health stresses the "excellent safety record" of the hepatitis B vaccine.

Its website says the risks of vaccination have to be weighed against the benefits.

Years of extensive laboratory and clinical tests are undertaken during a vaccine's development.

Before being granted a licence, its manufacturer has to demonstrate its quality, safety and efficacy and ethics review committees have to give their approval.