Controversial paediatrician Dr David Southall has been struck off the medical register after being found guilty of serious misconduct.

The General Medical Council found Professor Southall 59, guilty of falsely accusing a grieving mother of drugging and murdering her 10-year-old son, who hanged himself in June 1996.

The GMC’s Fitness to Practice Panel ruling in London today comes three years after Professor Southall was found guilty of serious professional misconduct for accusing the husband of solicitor Sally Clark of murdering their children.

Mrs Clark died in March after being wrongly jailed over the death of her two sons Christopher and Harry.

During the latest misconduct hearing, which began in November 2006, Professor Southall was found to have inappropriately accused the woman, known as Mrs M, of murdering her ten-year-old son by “hanging him up and leaving him to die”.

The GMC was told that Professor Southall aggressively interviewed the mother and asked her to demonstrate the moment that she found her dead son, known as M1, using a pencil and shoestring. A second mother, known as Mrs H, claimed that he had treated her son like a “lab rat” and accused her of abusing her ill child.

The panel ruled that his actions were “inappropriate, added to the distress of a bereaved person and were an abuse of his professional position”.

Chairman Dr Jacqueline Mitton told Dr Southall today: “The panel has concluded that you have deep-seated attitudinal problems and that your misconduct is so serious that it is fundamentally incompatible with your continuing to be a registered medical practitioner.”

She added: “The panel is particularly concerned by your lack of insight into the multiplicity of your failings over a long period.”

The panel also noted that Dr Southall has never apologised to the Clark family or Mrs M, for his false allegations of murder in their cases.

Dr Southall, who did not react when the ruling was given, is immediately suspended from the medical register. His solicitor said he is considering an appeal and that the welfare of children was always paramount in his mind.

The president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), Dr Patricia Hamilton, defended the doctor’s reputation and said the organisation was concerned "that paediatricians and social workers will be deterred from undertaking child protection work".

“The RCPCH is saddened and disappointed to learn of this judgment. David Southall has made a major contribution to child health both nationally and internationally and has been a strong advocate for children during a distinguished career.

“Sadly there are circumstances where parents may have harmed their children and in these situations health professionals have a statutory duty to act on their concerns and look after the best interests of the child."

Dr Mitton said it was necessary to erase Dr Southall from the register in order to maintain people’s confidence in the profession and uphold the proper standards of conduct.

The mother of a boy whose treatment by Dr Southall is also being investigated by South Wales police was at today’s hearing.

Afterwards, the mother called for a public inquiry into how the paediatrician was able to continue for so long: “Obviously we felt that Dr Southall needed to be erased from the medical register. He has done a lot of damage to the families that will never be repaired.”

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