COVID-denial Invites License Revocation in the UK

Abstract

This paper presents the case study of a British doctor who posted videos on social media platforms denying the existence of COVID-19. The case examines the approach taken by the UK’s medical regulator in dealing with doctors who espouse conspiratorial views at odds with accepted medical opinion. In such cases, there may be a conflict between the safety of patients and the public (which is the principal function of medical regulators) and the doctor’s freedom of expression (whether under the First Amendment, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, or another international human rights instrument). During this protracted three-and-a-half-year case, the UK’s Medical Practitioners’ Tribunal, High Court and —latterly—Court of Appeal have each made it clear that doctors remain free to express views contrary to medical orthodoxy except where they lack any supporting evidentiary basis. In September 2023, an order was made revoking the doctor’s licence. Rather than accept the Tribunal’s guidance following his initial suspension, he chose to continue promoting his conspiratorial views in a public forum.