A leading health watchdog has gone to the High Court to challenge a General Medical Council (GMC) decision not to strike off paediatrician David Southall.
Professor Southall was found guilty of professional misconduct by the GMC in August 2004 after wrongly accusing solicitor Sally Clark's husband of murdering their children. He was also banned from child protection work for three years.
However, the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) has referred the case to the high court in a bid to change what they say is an unduly lenient penalty for the Professor whose 'expert' evidence could have resulted in a jail sentence for Mr Clark.
Talking to national broadcast media, Monica Carss-Frisk QC, acting for the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence said that the GMC had "woefully failed" to "maintain confidence in the medical profession and send out the right signals to the public".
The CHRE is calling for Professor Southall to be struck off the medical register of practitioners.
Sally Clark was convicted in 1999 of murdering her two sons. Her conviction was quashed in 2003 at a second appeal hearing when new evidence was submitted showing that the boys could have died from natural causes.
BackRelated news stories
- 16/08/2006: Former victims of child abuse at care homes in Scotland receive CICA compensation
- 15/07/2005: Doctor struck off after giving 'misleading' evidence
- 14/07/2005: GMC rules paediatrician Roy Meadows gave misleading evidence
- 15/04/2005: High Court rejects plea to overturn no strike decision for doctor
- 23/01/2005: Pathologist faces GMC hearing
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