Copyright standard
A junior doctor has avoided being struck off after he made social media posts which mocked a Jewish massacre and referred to Jewish people as "Jew banker goblins". Dr Martin Whyte was a former executive member of the British Medical Association (BMA) when he was suspended in 2023 over "grossly offensive" tweets, which included calling for Israel boycotts and describing clips denying the Holocaust as "pretty convincing". Following a hearing, the General Medical Council (GMC) determined that Whyte's conduct fell "just short of that which would be considered serious enough to pose a risk to public protection", the Daily Mail reports. An investigation panel found that Whyte's comments were not "intentionally antisemitic". Whyte, a specialist trainee in paediatrics at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, has instead been issued with a formal warning. It states: "On 18 April 2018, 27 October 2018 and 23 November 2018 Dr Whyte posted comments on Twitter (now known as X) which were grossly offensive. "This conduct does not meet the standards required of a doctor. It risks bringing the profession into disrepute and it must not be repeated." Whyte's litany of offensive tweets included a response to a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, in which 11 people lost their lives. He wrote: "Hahaha zeig heil hahaha gas the jews hahaha just kidding but have you seen these youtube videos about the holohoax the're pretty convincing imo [in my opinion]…" In 2018, he also tweeted: "Me: It's important to represent Judaism and Jewish people fairly and respectfully in art. Also me: Jew banker goblins." Elsewhere, Whyte posted about the "decomposing carcass of the Queen" and referred to Conservatives as "b*******" who should be barred from working in medicine. Whyte also indulged in defamatory conspiracy theories, writing without evidence that political journalist Andrew Neil had landed a job with BBC because he killed a prostitute with Tony Hall, the then director-general. In a Twitter spat with Andrew Neil, he wrote: "Ahaha you thin skinned babyman. "How are you still so prominent at the BBC? Did you and Tony Hall kill a prostitute together or something?" The tweets surfaced in 2023, at the height of BMA negotiations with the government over walkouts by junior doctors. When confronted with the posts, a BMA spokesman described them as "totally unacceptable". The organisation insisted Whyte was not involved in negotiations on behalf of junior doctors and it emailed all members saying there "absolutely no place in the BMA for anti-Semitism". It continued: 'We were not aware of these comments, nor of any anti-Semitic views. Any form of antisemitism is inexcusable.” Advocacy group Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) criticised the medical regulator for not imposing a heavier punishment on Whyte. A spokesperson told Daily Mail: "Every week there is some new outrage from the medical regulatory system. "Is there any level of racism against Jewish people that the GMC would consider worthy of actual disciplinary action? If so, we have yet to see it. "Antisemitism is at record highs in our society and regulators are totally asleep at the wheel. Another spectacular failure by the medical regulator." A GMC spokesman said: "We carried out a full and thorough investigation into Dr Martin Whyte's social media posts. After hearing the evidence, an investigation committee found his posts were grossly offensive. "They decided a formal warning was necessary to uphold confidence in the profession, which will appear on the doctor's online record for two years and must be disclosed to any potential new employers. "A warning is a formal, significant disciplinary action on a doctor's registration." A BMA spokesman confirmed Dr Whyte would not barred from representing the BMA in an elected office ever again. A spokesman added: "The BMA takes the conduct of its elected officials and staff incredibly seriously. "To that end Dr Whyte was immediately removed from taking part in any and all BMA business at the time the social media material came to light, and this was followed up with our own internal investigation which made this permanent. "The decision about whether he can continue to practise as a doctor is a matter for the GMC, not the BMA. "However, we have taken the view that he should not be able to represent the BMA in any elected office again. We wish to reiterate that the BMA stands opposed to all forms of discrimination."
