Yorkshire Iraq doctor guilty of misconduct

A FORMER British Army doctor, who now works in North Yorkshire, has been found guilty of serious misconduct by medical watchdogs over the death of Iraqi detainee Baha Mousa and will now face possible sanctions against him working as a medic.

A FORMER British Army doctor, who now works in North Yorkshire, has been found guilty of serious misconduct by medical watchdogs over the death of Iraqi detainee Baha Mousa and will now face possible sanctions against him working as a medic.

Dr Derek Keilloh, appearing before the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), denied any cover-up and claimed he only spotted dried blood around the nose of hotel receptionist Mr Mousa after he was arrested and beaten by British soldiers in Basra in 2003.

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Hooded with a sandbag for nearly 24 hours, Mr Mousa suffered 93 separate injuries including fractured ribs and a broken nose during the final 36 hours of his life in the custody of the 1st Battalion, Queen’s Lancashire Regiment (1 QLR).

Dr Keilloh - the senior medic on duty who treated Mr Mousa, 26, on the night he died repeatedly denied any knowledge of such injuries.

On Sunday the MPTS listed a series of failings in his conduct in not protecting detainees from mistreatment and ruled he acted dishonestly. On Tuesday the tribunal hearing the case ruled these failings amounted to serious misconduct.

The tribunal has now retired to decide if Dr Keilloh should face any sanctions over his actions. The MPTS has the power to suspend or strike off doctors they find guilty of misconduct.

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The GP, who now works at Mayford House Surgery in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, should have been aware of the injuries to Mr Mousa - but failed to conduct an adequate examination of the body, the MPTS have said.

And knowing of the dead man’s condition he then failed to assess other detainees or protect them from further mistreatment and tell senior officers what was going on.

And the MPTS said he engaged in “misleading and dishonest” conduct when, at court martials and a subsequent public inquiry, he maintained under oath he saw no injuries to Mr Mousa’s body.

The MPTS panel hearing Dr Keilloh’s case is expected to make a ruling by Friday.