CAMPAIGNERS slammed the doctors’ regulatory body today after a retired GP had her medical licence suspended over her involvement in a series of peaceful climate protests.
Diana Warner, who worked for the NHS for 37 years, was found guilty of professional misconduct at a tribunal convened by the General Medical Council over her role in three separate protests.
The 65-year-old had been handed custodial sentences for breaching injunctions by protesting with Insulate Britain in 2021 and 2022 on the M25.
She was also jailed for six weeks for glueing her hand to the dock during a hearing at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court in 2022.
Dr Warner told the tribunal she took part in the actions because the government was failing to protect the public from the existential threat posed by climate change.
But the tribunal ruled that her decision to act unlawfully may lead to patients questioning her judgment as a medical professional and suspended her from the medical register for three months.
A spokesperson from climate group Health for XR said: “Institutions like the GMC who have a legal and ethical responsibility to protect patient safety should be the first to raise the climate alarm, rather than punish those who do.”
The ruling comes after another retired GP Dr Sarah Benn had her medical licence suspended for five months in April after she breached a private injunction by protesting peacefully outside Kingsbury oil terminal.
Dr Emma Runswick, deputy chairwoman of BMA council, said: “We warned that the Dr Benn ruling would set a dangerous precedent by conflating unrelated custodial sentences with a doctor’s ability to provide good, safe, medical care and maintain the confidence of the public, and now here we are again — a decision made on matters not directly related to patient care or their clinical skills.
“The GMC should rethink its decision and recognise the clear point that Dr Warner poses no threat to patients, as the suspension implies.”
Former BMJ editor-in-chief Dr Fiona Godlee said: “I and many others are grateful to Dr Warner for putting herself on the line.
“Her actions will only serve to increase trust in the medical profession for calling for urgent action on the climate emergency.
“I fear these punishments by the courts and the GMC will fall on the wrong side of history as the grim realities of the climate crisis hit home.”
