A British cardiologist suggested without evidence on Saturday that Covid-19 vaccines might have been a factor in the cancer suffered by members of the British royal family, drawing swift condemnation from the government, health experts and cancer support groups.
The cardiologist, Dr. Aseem Malhotra, made the claim during a 20-minute speech at the annual conference of Reform U.K., the anti-immigration party led by Nigel Farage — which distanced itself from his remarks after they provoked an outcry.
Speaking from the main stage at the party’s two-day event, Dr. Malhotra said on Saturday that he had been told by a professor of oncology that “he thinks it’s highly likely that the Covid vaccines have been a factor, a significant factor, in the cancer of members of the royal family.”
The British government quickly denounced the claim as dangerous to public health.
“When we are seeing falling numbers of parents getting their children vaccinated, and a resurgence of disease we had previously eradicated, it is shockingly irresponsible for Nigel Farage to give a platform to these poisonous lies,” the health secretary, Wes Streeting, said. “Farage should apologize and sever all ties with this dangerous extremism.”
Health charities also attacked the comments. “There is no good evidence of a link between the Covid-19 vaccine and cancer risk,” the group Cancer Research said. “The vaccine is a safe and effective way to protect against the infection and prevent serious symptoms.”
Later on Saturday, Mr. Farage’s party distanced itself from Dr. Malhotra’s comments, without criticizing him directly.
“Dr. Aseem Malhotra is a guest speaker with his own opinions who has an advisory role in the United States government,” the party said in a statement. “Reform U.K. does not endorse what he said but does believe in free speech.”
King Charles III announced in February 2024 that he had received a diagnosis for an undisclosed form of cancer. But he resumed royal duties in May that year and has attended many high-profile events since then.
And in March 2024, Catherine, Princess of Wales, announced a cancer diagnosis in a prerecorded video broadcast. She, too, has since resumed public duties.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the doctor’s remarks.
During his speech, Dr. Malhotra said that he was advising Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. health secretary, adding that they were in frequent contact.
Dr. Malhotra is the chief medical adviser at the Make America Healthy Again Action advocacy group, but he is not listed among U.S. administration officials.
The oncologist Dr. Malhotra said he had spoken to, Angus Dalgleish, is a professor of oncology at St. George’s, University of London, who has also spoken skeptically about Covid-19 vaccines.
Neither Professor Dalgleish nor the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services immediately responded to requests for comment.
Although it is generally recognized that, in a small percentage of people, vaccines have produced some side effects, the idea that they can promote or accelerate cancer is not supported by mainstream medical experts.
Skepticism toward vaccines has increased in many countries in recent years, despite decades of research supporting their overall safety. In the United States, Mr. Kennedy has long expressed doubts about vaccines, including those against polio and measles, the mainstay of childhood immunizations for decades.
He has also described a plan to “Make America Healthy Again,” a phrase that Mr. Malhotra adapted during his presentation — “Making Britain Healthy Again” — on the final day of the conference of Reform U.K. in Birmingham, England.
The party, led by Mr. Farage, who made his name internationally by campaigning successfully for Brexit, has only four lawmakers in the British Parliament. But it leads comfortably in opinion polls after a series of missteps by the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who leads the Labour Party.
During his speech, Mr. Malhotra called for a moratorium on mRNA vaccines to review their safety, which were developed and rapidly deployed during the pandemic. He argued that most drugs were developed in order to generate money for pharmaceutical companies and also criticized the World Health Organization.
Last month, the U.S. health secretary canceled nearly $500 million of grants and contracts for developing mRNA vaccines, which were rapidly created during the Covid-19 pandemic by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The mRNA shots instruct the body to produce a fragment of a virus, which then sets off the body’s immune response.
Since 2021, hundreds of reports have tracked the efficacy of the vaccines, and the shots have saved millions of lives in the United States and elsewhere, according to dozens of studies.
Stephen Castle is a London correspondent of The Times, writing widely about Britain, its politics and the country’s relationship with Europe.
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