The European Court of Justice has been accused of undermining Britain’s vaccination programme after ruling that patients can sue for illnesses they believe were caused by jabs, even when there is no scientific evidence.

The EU's highest court said that if a number of healthy people developed a disease shortly after receiving a vaccine then that would serve as enough proof to bring a claim.

The ruling, which health experts in Britain said was ‘of serious concern’, opens the door for class actions from patients who believe their health was affected by vaccines, even when there is no medical proof.

More than 1,000 families have attempted to seek compensation from pharmaceutical companies over claims that their is a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, following controversial research by British doctor Andrew Wakefield who was later struck off the medical register.

But fears that the measles, mumps and rubella jab can cause damage have continued to plague vaccination efforts, and British experts said the new ruling could further exacerbate the problem.