GP suspended after climate protests loses appeal

A GP has lost an appeal against the suspension of her medical licence which came after she was jailed for taking part in climate protests.

Dr Sarah Benn, who used to work in Birmingham, took part in three Just Stop Oil protests at the oil terminal in Kingsbury, Warwickshire, in 2022.

She was suspended from practising for five months by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) in April 2024 after it found her fitness to do so had been impaired because of misconduct.

Dr Benn, who has since retired, sought to challenge the tribunal findings at the High Court in December, but Mrs Justice Yip rejected her case.

Dr Benn "intended to act in a way that did not meet the standards of behaviour to be expected of a doctor", the judge said.

"The finding that Dr Benn's fitness to practise was impaired was not based merely on historical wrongdoing, which fell below the standards of personal conduct expected of a doctor, but also took account of Dr Benn's stated intention to continue to behave in the same way."

After taking part in the three protests, Dr Benn admitted this put her in breach of an interim High Court injunction that amounted to contempt of court, for which she was sentenced to 32 days' imprisonment.

Mrs Justice Yip said Dr Benn had been a law-abiding citizen until 2019, when she was prosecuted for "non-violent but unlawful acts" committed through Extinction Rebellion.

Dr Benn reported the prosecutions to the General Medical Council, which decided to issue advice, with a further arrest in 2021 deemed insufficient for an investigation.

However, she then took part in peaceful protests, on 26 April, 4 May and 14 September 2022, within a prohibited buffer zone at Kingsbury, in breach of an interim injunction issued on 14 April that year.

The judge said no clinical concerns were raised at her misconduct hearing.

Dr Benn had told the court the MPTS was wrong to find that participation in non-violent environmental activism amounted to misconduct and the reasoning behind the tribunal's decision was "flawed".

She stated the suspension was "excessive and disproportionate".

GMC chief executive Charlie Massey said doctors had a right to express opinions on "important issues like climate change".

There was nothing in the GMC's guidance preventing GPs from exercising their right to lobby government and campaign, including taking part in protests, Mr Massey explained.

But he added the public had "a high degree of trust in doctors, and that trust can be put at risk when doctors fail to comply with the law".

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