Health Secretary tells doctors regulator to act now over extremist doctors

The Health Secretary has written to the NHS doctors regulator to stress the need to tackle “extremism, discrimination or hate speech” in the system in a “thorough and timely manner.”

Victoria Atkins sent the warning after it emerged that Dr Wahid Shaida, who led the now proscribed extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, was still licensed to practice as a GP.

Shaida was revealed to have celebrated the October 7th Hamas massacre as a “welcome punch on the nose” of Israel, and also sought to justify  the attempted murder of Salman Rushdie to his Facebook followers, using the alias Abdul Wahid.

Atkins said she “appalled” to have read reports of “a small number” of NHS staff posting extremist and antisemitic material. 

Writing to NHS England and the Professional Standards Authority which oversees the General Medical Council , Atkins  said it was “vital for public confidence” that that health system dealt with “any instances of extremism, discrimination or hate speech” in an efficient way and that  “those involved face appropriate and consistent sanctions.”

Speaking to the Telegraph, the Heath Secretary said she would “not tolerate” a service that was not able to allow patients to “trust the person treating them will give them the best possible care regardless of who they are.”

Last Monday, three months after the GMC were alerted to Dr Shaida’s role and his views, the NHS stepped in and removed his from the approved doctors list.

But he is still able to operate as a private doctor outside the NHS without restrictions. The GMC now says it is looking at Dr Shaida’s case “as a matter of urgency.”

A spokesperson for the Community Security  Trust said the GMC’s slow response sent out a “very damaging message.”