Matt Hancock has said he would not rule out making immunisations mandatory, saying that anti-vaxxers “have blood on their hands”.

The health secretary said he was ready to “consider all options”, and although he does not want to impose mandatory jabs for diseases like measles, he did not rule it out.

Hancock told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I do think we need to consider all options. Failure to vaccinate when there isn’t a good reason is wrong. Those people who campaign against vaccination are campaigning against science. The science is settled.”

Unicef released figures last week showing that more than half a million children in the UK went unvaccinated against measles between 2010 and 2017. Anti-vaccine messages on social media have been blamed for promoting scepticism among parents.

Hancock said: “I don’t want to have to reach the point of compulsory vaccination, but I will rule nothing out. I don’t want to reach that point and I don’t think we are near there, but there is a huge programme of work to increase the proportion of children that are vaccinated.

“If you don’t vaccinate your children it is not only your child that is at risk, it is also other children, including children who for medical reasons can’t be vaccinated. Vaccination is good for you, good for your child, good for your neighbour and your community.”

Earlier, Hancock told the Times: “Those who have promoted the anti-vaccination myth are morally reprehensible, deeply irresponsible and have blood on their hands.”

The UK was declared free of the highly contagious measles disease for the first time by the WHO in 2017 but in 2018, it experienced small outbreaks.

In March this year there was a sharp increase of cases across Greater Manchester.