As revealed in the Yorkshire Post yesterday, consultant anaesthetist Sean Bennett has been quizzed by detectives investigating the death of a patient at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, East Yorkshire.

Speaking exclusively to this newspaper, he insisted he had "nothing to hide", while his wife Anna later mounted a vigorous defence.

She said: "He's no Harold Shipman, he's not a murderer," a reference to the Greater Manchester GP who became Britain's biggest mass murderer.

Mrs Bennett said her husband had an "impeccable character", adding: "I'm sure it will come to nothing, everyone is supporting him, all the nurses and doctors, our house is full of cards from them.

"He is a team player and the decisions he makes in the intensive care unit are a team effort, he has never worked alone."

Police were called in by Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust over concerns about the death of a patient in May.

The man, in his 50s, was being treated in intensive care and the alarm is understood to have been raised over the circumstances in which his ventilator was switched off.

Humberside Police have extended the inquiry to establish the circumstances of other deaths at the site, which the force said was standard procedure "to ensure a full and frank investigation".

A file is expected to be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service this week.

Dr Bennett has been suspended by the trust, which would only confirm that police were investigating allegations of malpractice against a member of staff.

Dr Bennett is being represented by the Medical Protection Society (MPS), which said he was "co-operating fully" with the inquiry

Neither the trust or the MPS said they could comment further until the investigation had been concluded.