A number of campaign groups and doctors have criticised the Good Law Project for taking the General Medical Council (GMC) to court because it did not punish Dr. Aseem Malhotra for his Covid vaccine criticism.
On Tuesday, 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.”
The doctor expressed their support for cardiologist Dr. Aseem Malhotra amid concerns with the Good Law Project for taking the GMC to court over its decision not to deem him unfit to practise medicine.
Legal Machinery
Dr. Malhotra is calling for all COVID-19 mRNA vaccines to be suspended until the side effects are fully investigated.
He was an outspoken proponent of the COVID-19 genetic vaccines until July 2021, when the sudden death of his 73-year-old father caused him to take a deeper look into the data.
Earlier this year, the Good Law Project, which was founded by the left-wing barrister Jolyon Maugham, started a legal fundraiser working with a small group of unnamed doctors to “require the GMC to investigate doctors who deliberately share vaccine misinformation on social media and more widely.”
The group has called for the GMC to initiate fitness to practice proceedings and sanctions against Dr. Malhotra.
Profound Consequences
Doctors for Patients U.K., U.K. Medical Freedom Alliance and HART said that 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 said they 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.”
They said that it “is deeply unsettling that the GLP, an entity funded primarily by the public, would turn its legal machinery toward silencing an ethical doctor.”
They added that 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?”
Dr. Elizabeth Evans, co-founder and CEO of UK Medical Freedom Alliance told The Epoch Times that the case highlights a freedom of speech as well as a patient safety issue.
She said that the pharmaceutical industry is “extremely powerful and brings a lot of products to market, many of which are really amazing.”
High Court
Dr. Malhotra told The Epoch Times that, in regards to the case, the judge has to make a decision whether or not it should go to the High Court.“That decision hasn’t been made yet,” he said.
“Whether the GMC will be taken to the High Court, that hasn’t happened yet, it’s in a pre-hearing stage,” he added.
Defending himself, Dr. Malhotra said that he has “always adhered to the GMC’s code of practice.”
He added he was at the forefront of a campaign which promoted adhering to “the principles of ethical evidence-based medical practice” to “improve quality care for patients.”
He said that he didn’t have any “ill will” towards the people “calling for his head.”
“I think a lot of this is rooted in they think they’re doing the right thing, but it’s probably deep-rooted ignorance in understanding the evidence on the benefits and harms of the COVID mRNA vaccine,” he added.
The Epoch Times contacted The Good Law Project and GMC for comment.
