Fifty doctors have voiced their support for Dr. Aseem Malhotra as the Good Law Project takes the General Medical Council to court over its decision not to deem him unfit to practise medicine after he spoke out about his concerns with the COVID-19 vaccines.
In a statement organised by the campaign groups Doctors for Patients U.K., U.K. Medical Freedom Alliance and HART and co-signed by fifty U.K. medics, the doctors say it is “deeply unsettling that the [Good Law Project], an entity funded primarily by the public, would turn its legal machinery toward silencing an ethical doctor”.
“By contesting the GMC’s decision to support Dr. Malhotra’s right to free speech and not to carry out a formal [Fitness to Practice] investigation (on the grounds that his statements were not sufficiently egregious to merit action), the legal action supported by the GLP risks undermining the resolve of medical professionals to speak candidly on serious health issues, a move that would have profound consequences for patient safety and the ethical practice of medicine,” they add.
The organisers say have drafted the statement “to demonstrate that there is a significant body of doctors in support of Dr. Malhotra, who are strongly opposed to and concerned about this case and its ramifications for the medical profession as a whole”.
The full statement is reproduced below.
Statement of Support for Dr. Aseem Malhotra – challenging the Good Law Project attempt to pressure the GMC to censure him for raising patient safety concerns
We, the undersigned doctors, and the campaign groups Doctors for Patients U.K., U.K. Medical Freedom Alliance and HART, wish to publicly state our support for Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a well-published academic and cardiologist who has been a popular commentator on medical and public health matters in the U.K. media for many years. We condemn the actions of a group of (mostly anonymous) doctors, supported by the Good Law Project (GLP), in seeking to silence and punish Dr. Malhotra for speaking out about his concerns about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. This is a serious and chilling attack on the freedom of speech of a senior doctor.
Dr. Malhotra is the son of the late BMA stalwart and NHS campaigner Dr. Kailash Chand. Following the unexpected death of his father from previously undetectable heart disease, Dr. Malhotra made public statements highlighting his concerns that his father’s COVID-19 vaccinations were a causal factor in his death.
Despite initially endorsing and promoting the COVID-19 vaccines on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on February 5th 2021, he is now calling for an immediate suspension of the novel mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and a full investigation into their adverse effects, for reasons detailed in the two-part, peer-reviewed paper he wrote, published in September 2022 in the Journal of Insulin Resistance. This is entirely in line with his duty as a responsible doctor to protect the British public from the harm which he believes his family has suffered and to uphold the fundamental principle of medical ethics to ‘first do no harm‘.
Dr. Malhotra presented his concerns to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Vaccine Damage, on October 20th 2022 at Portcullis House, Westminster. His impassioned call to prioritise patient safety resulted in a group of anonymous doctors reporting him to the General Medical Council (GMC) for “high-profile promotion of misinformation about COVID-19 mRNA vaccines”, demanding it investigates his fitness to practise. When the GMC refused to carry out a Fitness to Practise (FtP) investigation, Dr. Matt Kneale, a junior doctor in the group, instructed the Good Law Project (GLP) to begin crowdfunding for a legal action against the GMC’s decision and launched a judicial review against the GMC in the High Court.
Dr. Malhotra is a senior cardiologist, a well-established commentator and campaigner on public health issues and a long-standing advocate for patient safety. His previous campaigns have raised awareness about heart disease, obesity, the harms of sugar and corruption within the pharmaceutical industry. As an ambassador for the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, he was the lead author in a joint initiative with the BMJ to tackle the harms of overprescribing and unnecessary medical interventions. It is a mark of Dr. Malhotra’s high regard for medical ethics that he felt compelled to speak publicly about his new and growing concerns of a link between COVID-19 vaccines and heart damage, despite initially endorsing the mRNA jabs.
It is deeply unsettling that the GLP, an entity funded primarily by the public, would turn its legal machinery toward silencing an ethical doctor. This is especially troubling given the organisation’s stated commitment to transparency and a better world. Rather than exerting legal force to silence professionals, should it not focus instead on compelling the full release of the COVID-19 vaccine trial data? The absence of such vital information from public and medical scrutiny is not just a lapse; it’s a serious breach of trust and a blow to patient safety.
By contesting the GMC’s decision to support Dr. Malhotra’s right to free speech and not to carry out a formal FtP investigation (on the grounds that his statements were not sufficiently egregious to merit action), the legal action supported by the GLP risks undermining the resolve of medical professionals to speak candidly on serious health issues, a move that would have profound consequences for patient safety and the ethical practice of medicine.
The GLP challenge against the GMC decision is misconceived, misguided and threatens doctors’ individual right to free speech and proper scientific debate on matters relating to protecting the public from dangerous products. It is deeply regrettable in a democratic society that instead of being applauded for his courage in raising the alarm, Dr. Malhotra is being persecuted in this way.
Thousands of doctors worldwide and in the United Kingdom share Dr. Malhotra’s reasonable concerns regarding COVID-19 vaccine safety. Many have spoken out on this issue, including the eminent U.S. cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough, who called for an immediate withdrawal of these products in a speech made in the EU Parliament on September 13th 2023. The undersigned doctors and organisations are aware of multiple harms associated with the COVID-19 vaccines; among these medics are frontline doctors who have reported vaccine-associated injuries and deaths in their own patients.
Dr. Ayiesha Malik MBChB, MRCGP (2014) – Director, Doctors for Patients U.K.
Dr. Clare Craig BM BCh, FRCPath – Co-Chair, HART
Dr. Elizabeth Evans MA, MBBS, DRCOG – CEO, U.K. Medical Freedom Alliance
Co-signatories
Lord Moonie, MBChB, MRCPsych, MFCM, MSc, House of Lords, former Parliamentary UnderSecretary of State 2001-2003, former Consultant in Public Health Medicine
Professor Angus Dalgleish, MD, FRCP, FRACP, FRCPath, FMedSci, Professor of Oncology, University of London; Principal, Institute for Cancer Vaccines & Immunotherapy
Professor John A Fairclough, BM BS, BMed Sci, FRCS, FFSEM(UK), Professor Emeritus, Honorary Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
Dr Ali Ajaz, MBBS, BSc, MRCPsych, PGCert, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist
Dr Victoria Anderson, MBChB, MRCGP (2016), MRCPCH (2013), DRCOG, General Practitioner
Dr Lucy Apps, MBBS, MRCGP, General Practitioner
Dr Michael Bazlinton, MBChB, MRCGP, DCH, General Practitioner
Dr Mark A Bell, MBChB, MRCP(UK), FRCEM, Consultant in Emergency Medicine
Dr Gill Breese, BSc, MBChB, DTM&H, DFFP, General Practitioner
Dr Emma Brierly, MBBS, MRCGP, General Practitioner
Dr Rachel Brown, MBChB, LLM, CFMP, MRCPsych
Mr John Bunni, MBChB (Hons), Dip Lap Surg, FRCS [ASGBI Medal], Consultant Colorectal and General Surgeon
Dr Selena Chester, MBBS, Medical Practitioner
Dr David Cartland, MBChB, BMedSci, General Practitioner
Mr Ian F Comaish, MA, BM BCh, FRCOphth, FRANZCO, Consultant Ophthalmologist
Dr Phuoc-Tan Diep, MBChB FRCPath. Consultant Histopathologist
Dr Jonathan Eastwood, BSc, MBChB, MRCGP, General Practitioner
Dr Jonathan Engler, MBChB, LLB
Dr Bob Gill, MBChB, MRCGP, General Practitioner
Dr Catherine Hatton, MBChB, General Practitioner
Dr Tony Hinton, MBChB, FRCS, Consultant Surgeon
Dr Rosamond Jones, MBBS, MD, FRCPCH, retired Consultant Paediatrician
Dr Tim Kelly, MBBCh, BSc, Hospital Doctor
Dr Caroline Lapworth, MBChB, General Practitioner
Dr Theresa Lawrie, MBBCh, PhD, Director, Evidence-Based Medicine Consultancy Ltd, Bath
Dr Andrew Lees, MB BS, MRCGP, DCH, retired General Practitioner
Mr Malcolm Loudon, MB ChB, MD, FRCSEd, FRCS (Gen Surg). MIHM, VR, Consultant Surgeon
Dr Imran Malik, MBBS, MRCP (2006), MRCGP (2007), General Practitioner
Dr Fiona Martindale, MBChB, MRCGP, General Practitioner
Dr Janet Menage, MA, MBChB, retired General Practitioner
Dr Alan Mordue, MBChB, FFPH, retired Consultant in Public Health Medicine & Epidemiology
Dr Campbell Murdoch, MBChb, General Practitioner and PCN Clinical Director, Somerset
Dr Greta Mushet, MBChB, MRCPsych, retired Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy
Dr Angela Musso, MD, MRCGP, DRCOG, FRACGP, MFPC, General Practitioner
Dr Sam McBride, BSc (Hons) Medical Microbiology & Immunobiology, MBBCh BAO, MSc in Clinical Gerontology, MRCP(UK), FRCEM, FRCP(Edinburgh), NHS Emergency Medicine & geriatrics
Mr Ian McDermott, MBBS, MS, FRCS(Orth), Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
Dr Geoffrey Maidment, MBBS, FRCP, retired Consultant Physician
Dr Fairoz Miller, BSc, MBBCh, MRCP (1999), MRCGP (2016), General Practitioner
Dr Alistair J Montgomery, MBChB, MRCGP, DRCOG, retired General Practitioner
Dr Sarah Myhill, MBBS, Dip NM, retired GP, Independent Naturopathic Physician, UKMFA Director of Medical Ethics
Dr Dean Patterson, Consultant Cardiologist and General Physician, MBChB, FRCP
Dr Jessica Robinson, Bsc (Hons), MBBS, MRCPsych, MFHom
Dr Susannah Robinson, MBBS BSc MRCP MRCGP General Practitioner
Dr Jon Rogers, MB ChB (Bristol), MRCGP (1981), DRCOG (1980), retired General Practitioner
Mr T. James Royle, MBChB, FRCS, MMedEd, Colorectal and General Surgeon
Dr Magdalena Stasiak-Horkan, MBBS, DCH, MRCGP (2003-2017), General Practitioner
Dr Rohaan Seth, BSc, MBChB, MRCGP (2012), retired General Practitioner
Dr Jannah van der Pol, iBSc, MBBS, MRCGP, General Practitioner
Dr Helen Westwood, MBChB (Hons), MRCGP, DCH, DRCOG, General Practitioner
Dr Lucie Wilk, BSc, MD, FRCPC (2013), Consultant Rheumatologist
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