Harris supports immunity ruling for expert witnesses

2.22.15pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 10th Jul 2006

Commenting on the GMC and Attorney General's appeal today against a High Court ruling which reinstated Professor Sir Roy Meadow to the medical register and also gave expert witnesses immunity from disciplinary action by their regulatory bodies in future, Dr Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat member of the Science and Technology Select Committee who raised Professor Meadow's case during an enquiry into expert witnesses and forensic science, said:

"The impact of the treatment of Sir Roy Meadow by the media and the GMC has had a marked impact on the willingness of paediatricians to serve as expert witnesses in the already fraught field of child protection."

Sir Roy Meadow was struck off the medical register by the GMC, having given misleading statistical evidence at the murder trial of Sally Clark whose convictions were later overturned on appeal. In the High Court in February 2006, Mr Justice Collins cleared Professor Meadow, ruling that he should not have been struck off and extending immunity from disciplinary proceedings to cover expert witnesses unless recommended by a judge.

"The way Sir Roy Meadow was treated by the media and by the GMC was outrageous. The High Court was absolutely right to find that he should not have been found guilty of professional misconduct and should not have been struck off.

"The High Court was also right to extend immunity from GMC proceedings to cover expert witnesses except where they have been censured and/or referred for disciplinary proceedings by the trial judge."

"Vulnerable children need doctors willing to testify in this area of work and the GMC has shown a failure to provide a balanced judgement in cases attracting media and pressure group hype such as the Meadow case."