AUTISM campaigner Ivan Corea and Ilford North MP Lee Scott thumbed through the pages of a new novel during its launch at the Palace of Westminster.

'Gauntlet' is a techno-thriller, the hero of which is based on the autistic son of its Canadian author Richard Aaron.

The book has been endorsed by the UK Autism Foundation (UKAF), which was set up by Ivan Corea, whose son Charin has an autistic spectrum disorder and attends Hatton School in Woodford Green.

Now Mr Corea and Lee Scott MP, Member of the House of Commons Select Committee on Health and Patron of UKAF, hope to hand over signed copies of the novel to political party leaders Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

The book is a tribute to the special and often unrecognized talents possessed by Mr Aaron's son, and he hopes it will encourage people to see past autism to the very real abilities that many suffers possess.

Published by Glass House Press, autistic savant Hamilton Turbee, who embodies both the astounding abilities and tragic misunderstandings of autism, proves himself to be the only one capable of beating the bad guys and saving the nation.

Lee Scott said: "Many of us in the House of Commons have been campaigning on the serious issues concerning autism and Asperger's Syndrome.

"As Patron of the UK Autism Foundation, I welcome Richard Aaron's commitment to all people with autism."