CAA to submit complaint to GMC after prominent junior doctor suspended by BMA over jokes on Twitter about gassing the Jews
Campaign Against Antisemitism is to submit a complaint to the General Medical Council (GMC) in relation to a prominent junior doctor with a history of inflammatory posts on social media.
Dr Martin Whyte, a Deputy Chair of the Junior Doctors’ Committee who also sits on the Executive of the British Medical Association (BMA), has been suspended from his roles over tweets that he allegedly posted in the past which the union has described as “totally unacceptable” in an e-mail to members.
In a 2018 tweet, Dr Whyte allegedly 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]…”
That same year, he also allegedly tweeted: “Me: It’s important to represent Judaism and Jewish people fairly and respectfully in art. Also me: Jew banker goblins.”
A year earlier, he allegedly tweeted: “Lifehack: promise not to boycott Israel, but do it anyway. Do it out of spite.”
He has also reportedly posted other controversial material unrelated to Jewish people or antisemitism.
He has reportedly now deleted his Twitter account.
Dr Whyte is a registrar at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle and was elected to his roles in the BMA. Following his suspension he has reportedly tried to resign from his positions but is unable to do so while he is subject to an investigation by the union.
In an e-mail to junior doctors, the BMA wrote: “Dear member, We unfortunately have distressing information to share. Today we have discovered that a UK Junior Doctors Committee officer has made deeply troubling comments online that are antisemitic. There is absolutely no place in the BMA for antisemitism.
“The comments in question were made by Dr Whyte, who had until today been an officer of the UK Junior Doctors Committee. This was totally unacceptable. We were not aware of these comments, nor of any antisemitic views. Any form of antisemitism is inexcusable. We strive to be a tolerant, diverse and progressive organisation. We want to assure members that we treat antisemitism and all forms of prejudice and discrimination with the utmost seriousness. As soon as this information came to light, Dr Whyte was immediately removed from all BMA activities and has subsequently resigned from the UK JDC. As such, he is no longer involved with any BMA work or communications.”
A spokesperson for the BMA said: “These tweets are totally unacceptable and we condemn them in the strongest possible terms. The views expressed in no way reflect the values of the BMA. Dr Martin Whyte has been removed from taking part in any and all BMA business with immediate effect and the BMA will be undertaking an external independent investigation.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism shall be submitting a complaint about the doctor to the GMC, the regulator of the medical profession.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “These tweets are utterly vile. Imagine how a Jewish patient, or indeed any decent person, would feel on discovering that this is their doctor. The BMA must urgently investigate and dissociate itself from this individual and his views, and we shall be writing to the General Medical Council. Such foul language has no place in the medical profession.”
Image credit: www.independent.co.uk/news/health
