Dispatches (TV series)

Dispatches
Presented by	Various (See Full List)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Production
Running time	60 or 30 minutes
Release
Original network	Channel 4
Original release	1987 – present
External links
Website

Dispatches is the British TV current affairs documentary series on Channel 4, first transmitted in 1987. The programme covers issues about British society, politics, health, religion, international current affairs and the environment, and often features a mole inside organisations under journalistic investigation.

Broadcast on 18 November 2004, MMR: What they didn't tell you, featured an investigation by Sunday Times journalist Brian Deer into the campaign against the MMR vaccine by British surgeon Andrew Wakefield. Among a string of allegations, Deer revealed that, when Wakefield claimed a possible link between the vaccine and autism, his own lab had produced secret results which contradicted his claims, and he had registered patent claims on his own single measles vaccine.

Following the programme, Wakefield, funded by the Medical Protection Society sued Channel 4, The Sunday Times and Deer personally for libel, but sought to have his lawsuit stayed by the court, so that he did not need to pursue it. The case became high-profile when Channel 4 obtained a court order compelling Wakefield to continue with his lawsuit or abandon it. During two years of litigation, three High Court judgments were obtained against Wakefield from Mr Justice David Eady, including new law that the General Medical Council was required to supply materials from its own investigations to defendants facing libel actions from doctors. In his first judgment, Eady said:

In pleadings submitted to the court, Channel 4 spelt out what they said the programme had alleged. It said that Wakefield:

In January 2007, Wakefield discontinued his claim and paid Channel 4's and Deer's costs.

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