Psychologist is cleared of sex claims

The HPC’s Conduct and Competence Committee found the facts of the case “were not well founded” and Phillip Dodgson, from Brighton, can continue to practise.

The panel concluded Mr Dodgson did not make inappropriate comments of a sexual nature to the convict, referred to as Prisoner X, during an assessment in June 2004.

The hearing was told that details of the allegations were discovered in a brown envelope in the psychologist’s personnel file by the Sussex Partnership NHS Trust in October 2009 as Mr Dodgson was preparing to retire. The envelope was said to have contained notes from a disciplinary process held by his employer at the time, South Downs NHS Trust.