British Prime Minister Tony Blair has ignored British people dying of the human form of BSE in his quest to end Saddam Hussein's regime, a victim's father claimed today.
As Mr Blair arrived in the North to hold talks with US President George Bush, he was urged to see how vCJD has ravaged Belfast teenager Jonathan Simms.
Jonathan's parents claim other families desperate to undertake the radical therapy they fought a major High Court battle over have been blocked.
His father, Mr Don Simms, said: "Tony Blair has put so much effort and time into the people of Iraq, but perhaps he should concentrate more on his own people.
"He should come and see me and see what a potential weapon of mass destruction that exists in the UK has done to my son.
"My door is open to him or his ministers, not that I expect to see him."
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In treatment that was a world first, Jonathan had the blood-thinning compound Pentosan Polysulphate (PPS) injected into his brain in a bid to destroy rogueprions causing the disease's spread.
Surgery was only carried out at an undisclosed hospital in January after the High Courts in London and Belfast ruled that the treatment was legal and in Jonathan's best interests.
The 18-year-old former Northern Ireland schoolboy soccer international has since returned to his west Belfast home to be cared for.
Although he was reluctant to go into detail about his present condition, Mr Simms stressed his son remains stable.
Health chiefs have refused to allow other victims to be given the same treatment while they monitor Jonathan's progress, Mr Simms claimed.
"I don't want to be seen as some sort of crusader, but others just don't seem to be able to get themselves through the system.
"If Mr Blair is unavailable [Health Secretary] Alan Milburn or another official could relay to him the scene of devastation vCJD has caused in aperfectly healthy young man."
A Downing Street spokeswoman insisted Mr Blair was sympathetic to the Simms family's plight but said the Prime Minister "prevents him from taking part in any other arrangements".
PA