The UK’s chief regulator for doctors has dropped an investigation into an NHS whistleblower who exposed hundreds of cases of harm at a hospital trust in north-west England, following a dispute over the authenticity of emails put forward as evidence by the trust.

Consultant urologist Peter Duffy, 61, has faced disciplinary proceedings at the General Medical Council (GMC), which could have led to him being barred from practice, for over two years.

The case centred on the contents of two disputed emails that Morecambe Bay Trust (UHMBT) produced as evidence a number of years after Duffy blew the whistle on patient safety at the trust.

The GMC has now found there is no case to answer.

In a 30-page decision letter, the GMC highlighted the “particular regard” it gave to its “inability to place weight” on an IT report that had found there was no evidence of tampering or foul play over the disputed emails.

The GMC said it was unable to assess the report since a company commissioned by the NHS to oversee the exercise, Niche Consult, did not disclose it to the GMC during the 30-month probe.

Niche Consult subcontracted two “independent cyber security firms” to carry out the review “on a blind basis from each other”, according to NHS England.

The review assessed Duffy’s claims that emails apparently sent by him in 2014 – but that were not discovered until 2020 – had been falsified.

The GMC also found that a key interview transcript provided to investigators by the firm was unsigned...

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