The senior author of the report which first raised concerns about a possible link between the MMR vaccine and autism has said that urgent research is needed to resolve the concerns of parents.

John Walker-Smith, the senior clinician in the 1998 study, writes in a letter in tomorrow's Lancet that while he continues to support the MMR vaccine and believes its widespread use is safe in most children, he thinks it is necessary to examine whether a smaller group of children are at risk from it.

He supervised Andrew Wakefield in the study which proposed there might be a connection between the MMR vaccination and bowel disease and autism. They studied the cases of 12 children at the Royal Free hospital, London, who suffered from Crohn's disease (a condition that inflames the bowel), and who had also been diagnosed as autistic.

Dr Walker-Smith writes that his own grandsons have had the vaccination and, while concerned about the recent outbreak of measles, he wants to see both sides of the debate to agree on "an independent research agenda that will finally resolve this matter".

An editorial in the Lancet says that swift action is needed to restore public confidence in the vaccine and prevent further deaths from measles, mumps and rubella.

On Thursday, the health minister Yvette Cooper conceded, in an interview with the Guardian, that the public had lost trust in government advice on the issue.