“I am worried about the insidious growth of evidence that the risks of vaccination outweigh the benefits.” So I wrote on January 7th 2023 as I considered the intervention of prominent heart doctor Aseem Malhotra into the fraught Covid vaccine debate. I continued:
Now that the vaccines have been around for a while the less common sequelae which would not have been noted in small trials are mounting in number, with particular concern over whether the rising rate of cardiac deaths is attributable at least in part to the vaccine. It is a theoretical possibility. Also, getting infected seems to produce better and longer-lasting antibody generation. Many people think Dr Aseem Malhotra is a maverick, but watch his interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News. Then ask yourself – given the outrageous aspersions cast on drug companies and the regulatory bodies – why he has not been sued for defamation? Could it just be that those theoretical possibilities are realities? If so, it is probably worth reminding drug companies and politicians that the truth will emerge eventually.
It later emerged that three originally anonymous doctors had referred Dr Aseem Malhotra to the General Medical Council. The doctors were later named as Matthew Kneale, Trisha Greenhalgh and Rachel Clarke. Dr Kneale was quoted in the British Medical Journal after it emerged that the GMC had declined to take action:
Kneale said in his witness statement, “I felt compelled to bring these proceedings because I strongly believe that medical professionals should not be using their professional status to promote harmful misinformation. The consequences of a decision to not investigate such cases creates a ‘Wild West’ where any doctor can state virtually anything online without consequence. … I strongly feel that the GMC, as the medical regulator, has a duty to protect the public from such harms, and that the public would expect it to act.
In documents filed to the High Court, Kneale alleges that Malhotra promoted “unscientific and dangerous information” that escalated as the pandemic progressed and especially after Malhotra’s father died in July 2021, which he attributed to the Pfizer vaccine.
It seems that the legal action was crowdfunded through the Good Law Project, and its website says:
When a doctor makes a public statement about a medical issue, we expect them to tell the truth and not mislead people. They have a professional responsibility to ensure the advice they give reflects the scientific evidence.
The UK’s General Medical Council (GMC) investigates doctors whose behaviour appears to have fallen below what we might reasonably expect of them. But it appears to have decided not to investigate doctors who spread vaccine misinformation – that is, statements which over-emphasise the harms of vaccines and under-emphasise their benefits.
Vaccine misinformation is misleading and potentially dangerous, especially when directed at groups who are at increased risk of harm from COVID-19, such as pregnant women. When medical doctors lend their professional authority to that misinformation, their statements can be influential. This could cause members of the public to believe in dangerous fake science, and erode public trust in the medical profession.
A doctor is working with Good Law Practice, the not for profit law firm set up by Good Law Project, to require the GMC to investigate doctors who deliberately share vaccine misinformation on social media and more widely. He is bringing the case because he (and other doctors) believe the GMC must fulfill [sic] its obligations to protect the public from misinformation.
He is challenging the GMC asking it to deliver on its main obligation – to protect the public.
On January 13th a piece appeared in the Guardian titled ‘BBC criticised for letting cardiologist “hijack” interview with false Covid jab claim‘ (he had been invited to give his views on statins):
“Malhotra has become a vocal figure for hesitancy about Covid vaccines, claiming they pose a greater threat than the virus itself – a view repeatedly debunked by factcheckers. On Friday, he reiterated his claim the jabs were a likely cause of his father’s death.
Peter Openshaw, a Professor of Experimental Medicine at Imperial College London, was also interviewed by the BBC on Friday.
“I did a rapid response interview on the BBC news channel this morning to say that vaccine side-effects are very, very rare in comparison with the preventable risks of COVID-19. The staff seemed alarmed and embarrassed that they had given him [Malhotra] a platform,” he tweeted.
Dr Stephen Griffin, a virologist at the University of Leeds, said: “I am genuinely astonished by the BBC allowing someone with a known extreme fringe view on mRNA vaccines and the extent to which they are associated with cardiovascular problems to either hijack an interview on a tenuously related topic to express these views, or indeed to appear at all following even a cursory background check.”
Prof Marc Dweck, the Chair of Clinical Cardiology at the University of Edinburgh, told the Guardian: “I think that Dr Malhotra’s opinions on both statins and Covid vaccines are misguided and in fact dangerous. The vast majority of cardiologists do not agree with his views and they are not based upon robust science.
“I would strongly urge patients to disregard his comments, which seem to be more concerned with furthering his profile (he does not have a cardiology career to speak of) rather than the wellbeing of the public. The BBC should not provide a platform for his views and should go to much greater lengths to research the people they invite to comment.”
Dr Matt Kneale, the Co-Chair of the Doctors’ Association, said Malhotra’s appearance was “deeply dangerous behaviour” and called on the General Medical Council to take action.
One might pause at this point to say “Eh?” Because as time has passed Dr Malhotra has been proved correct. The suggestion that mRNA vaccines are potentially harmful is no longer an extreme fringe view, nor is it misguided or dangerous or misinformation. It is mainstream. The factcheckers who debunked the idea that the vaccines were more dangerous than Covid itself for most recipients were, simply, wrong. And the idea that vaccination might protect pregnant women (not least as no trials were ever done on that group) had no evidence to support it, and the damaging effects have only later become apparent.
“Vaccine misinformation is misleading and potentially dangerous, especially when directed at groups who are at increased risk of harm from COVID-19, such as pregnant women,” said the Good Law Project. Indeed so. But who was providing that dangerous misinformation?
Not Dr Malhotra.
I intended to write to the GMC to refer the three accusers for professional misconduct until I saw that Dr Malhotra himself had done so. In a tweet in December 2024 he wrote:
I can confirm that I have referred 3 doctors to the @gmcuk on what I believe are 2 counts of misconduct.
They are @doctor_oxford, @drmattuk, & @trishgreenhalgh
GMC guidance is clear:
“You must treat colleagues with kindness, courtesy and respect. To develop and maintain effective teamworking and interpersonal relationships you must: listen to colleagues, communicate clearly, politely and considerately, recognise and show respect for colleagues’ skills and contributions, work collaboratively with colleagues and be willing to lead or follow as the circumstances require. … You must be compassionate towards colleagues who have problems with their performance or health. But you must put patient safety first at all times.”
My commitment to the profession has been faced with attack by fellow colleagues. This is perhaps the most disappointing part of the past few years. What kind of human being publicly attacks and tries to humiliate an individual whose entire family is dead, simply for speaking up for the vaccine injured and patient safety? A dispassionate observer could describe this as insensitive at best, and sociopathic behaviour, at worst (again, in part, explained by the psychopathic determinants of health).
A prominent medic Dr Rachel Clarke, on several occasions, published multiple defamatory tweets since 2022 where she refers to me as “ex -NHS doctor” and “Britain’s most notorious ant-vaxxer”. She weaponised a Mail on Sunday story (which can only be described as a hatchet job on myself and two other public figures) on statins. I lost my NHS job that I loved, and was told by several NHS cardiologists (many of whom were supportive of my stance) I that I would find it difficult to get back into the NHS for a consultant post because of this Mail on Sunday article. Recently, five years later, a libel case launched by the two others named in the piece was won. The article has been taken down. The corruption and the truth was revealed – yet, my job was still lost. Others who have posted similar defamatory tweets or made such comments include individuals such as Dr Matt Kneale and Trish Greenhalgh. Is this the type of behaviour that is deemed acceptable professional conduct by the GMC?
Secondly In my view, these healthcare professionals – through their relational aggression – are the ones undermining trust in the profession. They deliberately undermine voices raising patient safety concern. Such behaviour is in my view a danger to public health.
Bravo. I agree. Of course Dr Malhotra is not someone who “does not have a cardiology career to speak of” but is now Chief Medical Adviser of the Make America Healthy Again campaign group. What does that say about his reputation in the USA? Dinosaurs might argue that it says more about the man who appointed him, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, but I see it as belated recognition of one of medicine’s Galileos who was not afraid to counter officialdom but thereafter suffered under the Covid Inquisition. I read some of the tweets directed at him and they are quite offensive. You should also read some of those in response to his tweet I reproduced above. People have been jailed for less.
Anyway, I went to the GMC website to see what had happened to Dr Malhotra’s referral of the Terrible Trio.
There’s nothing there. The data go back to April 2024, so it should be there. I gather that the GMC is still sitting on it.
I have no idea whether there was a concerted campaign by the three doctors, as has been alleged, but they were wrong. I believe they should be censured by the GMC and offer Dr Malhotra an apology. One could argue the same applies to the other three quoted in the Guardian article. The sorry saga illustrates the inherent risks of shouting people down before the full facts have emerged.
Dr Andrew Bamji is a retired Consultant Rheumatologist and was President of the British Society for Rheumatology from 2006-8. He is the author of Mad Medicine: Myths, Maxims and Mayhem in the National Health Service. His Covid blog can be found here.
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Apologies are only worth anything if they are sincere – either in recognising that the other person had a point or was right OR at least that while you still disagree with them, your initial conduct was less than decent. The howling pack that contributed to the most evil/stupid peacetime episode in all of human history (taking into account the global scale) are going to have to do a lot to convince me that they mean any “apology”.
This, precisely this.
I can think of 3 doctors (at least) who should be investigated for medical misinformation, if not outright disinformation.
They could, if we are charitable (but why should we be) have believed what they were saying back then was true (misinformation), and the charge of disinformation would be very difficult to prove – unless you are MSM, which means you’re not required to prove anything!
And those despicable “factcheckers” should be arrested for disinformation, or misinformation at least!
I don’t like the idea of all this witch hunting through mis-, dis- and malinformation, but their side started this, so it should be used equally against them!
The scary bit is one side needs proof, and the other doesn’t, because it’s got political backing. No real doctor believes politics over scientific proof… they should ALWAYS remain able to question everything
What is so important about these sinister preparations that they must be given the status of pharmacology infallible? The courage of these non compliant doctors is something for which to be truly thankful. They shouldn’t need courage to question scientific matters but the fact that they do speaks for itself.
Dr Trish Greenhalgh convinced herself that wearing a mask 24hrs a day was the only sensible course of action. She probably still has them on today.
The FACT, that the virus is many times smaller than the holes in the mask passed her by….! Also, every single genuine study conducted on mask wearing, (e.g. Spanish 6 yr olds masks, Spanish 5 yr olds no masks) showed zero difference in outcomes. Surprise!
She should be so ashamed of her lack of judgement that she resigns from the medical profession with immediate effect. I won’t hold my breath.
Dr David Cartland has also been hounded by the Covidists.
Shame on the BMC.
Many of these people are utterly appalling, in my view they should be heavily sanctioned and if necessary struck off by the GMC because they have acted in a spiteful manner without thinking that they could be on the wrong side of history.
There are plenty more who should be in the sights of the professional bodies, assuming that those bodies are neutral.
Come on man do you really think these people are capable of contrition and circumspection and humility? They are total scuzzballs. The one saving grace of that period was that it gave us time to identify the nature of the enemy.
Excellent news.
That said, shouldn’t the vast majority of doctors and the NHS – be reported to the GMC for peddling and even worse continuing to peddle misinformation/lies about the safety and efficacy of the mmRNA drugs/vaccines necessary to defeat the ever so new and novel Sars Cov2 disease?
Why did they not do any research of their own instead of blindly relying on guidance and propaganda – often from the MSM?
Informed consent. Lol.
First,do no harm. Lol.
Bar a small and honourable few, most just sang from the same rotten hymn sheet.
‘He who pays the piper, sets the tune’… they all knew who their paymaster was
They were told to by the GMC! You will get nothing there. Government stooges.
I think nuclear weapons are misunderstood as they are generally perceived to the biggest of all weapons and possession of even one of them means that you are untouchable. Yes all true but the real purpose of these weapons was to blast a hole through dimensions and they succeeded and the good and the bad came through. For example the entities that appeared at the Trinity crash site were very tearful and upset. But nasty forces popped through too. If you imagine you were given a job to govern these forces then you will understand the direction of post-war geopolitics. It is never talked about but a lot of the caution on the part of Russia and China is the concern that the Yanks might have access to spiritual realm technology.
Everything the Good Law Project touches seems to fail. Well done, Jolyon. Keep up the “good” work. (irony, in case you wondered).
The fox will forever come back to bite the kimono-clad one.
It’s also fascinating to note how the Good Law Project is anything but what its name implies.
It’s not just doctors who told the truth about the vaccines that deserve an apology. Doctors who ignored protocols based on “the science” and treated patients with hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin also deserve an apology for being ridiculed/smeared.
Drs Aseem Malhotra, Mike Yeadon and Carl Heneghan I salute you for your honesty and bravery. You each have my undying thanks as an unjabbed 76yr old.
There were many “heroes ” in those dark days. For those of us who shared the scepticism they were reassuring voices. Not all were medics but all shared an enquiring mind. All should be celebrated. I didn’t realise Aseem had lost his job what a waste.
I doubt,other than GB News this covid legacy will reach publicity
Or will it go like the thalidomide saga? Everyone knows, but it is considered ancient history? Just move on?
I wonder…. In the case of Covid vaccines we are talking about billions of people vaccinated. A whole new ballpark.
I should imagine the GMC are thoroughly ashamed of their conduct throughout the whole sorry saga and would rather forget the whole thing happened i.e. sweep it under the carpet.
Shame on them.
I fully agree!
It is about time there is a proper study on all morbidities and mortalities from 2021 onwards comparing vaccinated to non-vaccinated people. And if the overall numbers in this study are high enough, we should be able to show exactly what is happening.
Clare Craig has filed a lawsuit to get them to release the data so it can be looked at.
Dr. Malhotra is a heroic individual. He stood up to Big Pharma and our own medical authorities at huge personal cost. He did that for us. So pleased that he was selected by the Trump administration to contribute his exceptional knowledge. He also helped produce a film, “First, do no Pharm”, exposing the collaboration between Big Pharma and health authorities, to help sell medical interventions.
Can anyone explain why the medical profession threw the precautionary principle out of the window when they supported the use of poorly tested, experimental gene therapies (wrongly re-labelled as vaccines) for an illness with an infection rate that was no worse than seasonal flu? Have doctors and professors collectively forgotten the life long, catastrophic harms caused by thalidomide? Did they forget the first principle of their profession – ‘first do no harm’?
To me, it’s quite clear that 21st century medicine is not fit for purpose. The whole profession is captured by a dogmatic scientific theology and by a corrupted system of corporate sponsorship. Nor are the regulatory institutions sufficiently independent or unbiased enough to regulate professional misconduct. The end result is a failed NHS and a population whose health outcomes are worsening year by year.