Doctor allegedly used weed killer on patients

Dr Martin was supported throughout by his wife Theresa

Probe following GP murder trial

Police who investigated a former GP cleared of murdering three patients are to hand files into the deaths of 12 more patients to the coroner.

A jury at Teesside Crown Court cleared Dr Howard Martin, 71, of the charges following a six-week trial.

He denied killing Harry Gittins, 74, Stanley Weldon, 74, and Frank Moss, 59, all from County Durham.

The former GP used to practise in Newton Aycliffe, but now lives in Penmaenmawr, North Wales.

Dr Martin was cleared of murdering the three men with morphine overdoses.

The 12 cases being referred to the coroner have already been considered by the Crown Prosecution Service but no charges were brought due to insufficient evidence, police confirmed.

It has emerged that Dr Martin worked in the same health centre as mass murderer Dr Harold Shipman for 18 months during the 1970s.

But police stressed this was never a line of inquiry in their investigation.

Det Supt Harry Stephenson said: "The Howard Martin inquiry was a different investigation to that of Harold Shipman. We never linked the two inquiries."

Coroner's decision

Durham Police said they intended to hand a further 12 files to the city's coroner Andrew Tweddle, as a result of other complaints not covered at Dr Martin's trial.

Det Supt Stephenson said: "Ultimately it will be for him to decide what action to take and what parameters he intends to set for any public hearing."

He added the police inquiry had initially concentrated on the period between January 2002 and May 2004 but also embraced relatives' concerns dating back to 1978.

Acquittal 'accepted'

"What we have is we've had 28 people who have made complaints about the practises of Dr Howard Martin," he said

"Three have resulted in a court hearing in which he was acquitted and we totally accept that acquittal.

"But there are 25 lots of people who have made complaints and we're duty bound both legally and morally to investigate those and pass the facts to the coroner."

Dr Martin's lawyer Sara Mason said: "Dr Martin is not in a position to comment in relation to any individual patients."

A leading paediatrician has been found guilty of professional misconduct after accusing solicitor Sally Clark's husband of murdering their children.

The General Medical Council has now ruled the way Professor David Southall works should be restricted.

The expert accused Mr Clark of the murders on the basis of a TV documentary. Mrs Clark was jailed and later cleared of killing the boys.

The family had been calling for the doctor to be struck off by the GMC.

The sole purpose of bringing my complaint, four long years ago, was to try to ensure that no other innocent parent is ever again falsely accused of harming their children   Steve Clark

At the GMC hearing in Manchester, tribunal chairman Denis McDevitt told Professor Southall he must not engage in any aspect of child protection work either in or outside the NHS for three years.

Mr McDevitt, chairman of the GMC's professional conduct committee, told Professor Southall his conduct amounted to "a serious departure from the standards expected from a registered medical practitioner."

He added: "The committee are concerned that at no time during these proceedings have you seen fit to withdraw these allegations or to offer any apology."

However, Professor Southall's employers, the University Hospital of North Staffordshire in Stoke, have said the paediatrician will not lose his job.

The GMC is due to hear seven other complaints against Professor Southall at a hearing expected to take place in January.

'Unacceptable

After the judgement, Steve Clark said: "It is a sad day when a doctor is dragged before his professional body, is found guilty of serious professional misconduct and has sanctions imposed upon him.

But he added: "As a father, the sole purpose of bringing my complaint, four long years ago, was to try to ensure that no other innocent parent is ever again falsely accused of harming their children.

He said he hoped the committee's verdict would send a strong message to all doctors that such accusations were "not acceptable and will no longer be tolerated".

Mr Clark added: "I am also, of course, relieved that at last my complaints have been upheld and I have been fully exonerated from any blame."

Professor Southall 'abused his position'

Professor Southall's solicitor, Margaret Taylor, said: "Although disappointed that conditions have been applied to his registration, he sincerely hopes that the decision will not deter other paediatricians from continuing to act in the particularly difficult area of child protection, and speaking out when they believe a child is being abused."

The paediatrician has not retracted his allegations.

Mervyn Gamage, a spokesman for the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, said the trust agreed the specialist should have raised his concerns about the Clark case in a different way.

But he praised Professor Southall, adding: "This penalty will allow him to continue to use his clinical skills for the benefit of sick children."

Dr Dominic Croft, a consultant paediatrician, also praised the paediatrician's expertise.

He told the BBC: "I'm very glad, and I'm sure everyone in the profession is glad, that Professor Southall is going to be able to continue to practise medicine."

Natural causes

Penny Mellor, who runs 'Dare to Care', a support group for parents accused of harming their children, said Professor Southall's behaviour had been a striking off offence.

But she said the GMC's decision meant the other complaints against Professor Southall would be considered.

"If he had been struck off, no other complaints could have been heard, so the other complainants could never have had their day in court."

The other cases, which are unconnected to the Clark's complaint, are due to be considered by the GMC in January.

Sally Clark was convicted in 1999 of murdering her two sons Christopher and Harry.

But that conviction was quashed when new medical evidence showing the babies died of natural causes was accepted at a second appeal hearing in January 2003.

The GMC hearing centred around conclusions Professor Southall drew after seeing an interview with Mr Clark on Channel 4's Dispatches programme broadcast in April 2000.

In his interview, Mr Clark described how the couple's first baby Christopher had suffered a nosebleed just 10 days before he died in December 1996.

Professor Southall told police he believed Mr Clark had killed the children after watching the interview, but without seeing any documents relating to the case or interviewing the family.