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Eminent paediatrician David Southall should not be struck off the medical register for accusing the husband of Sally Clark of killing their children, a High Court judge ruled last week.

Mr Justice Collins said that a ban outlawing Southall's involvement in child protection work for three years would "produce a sufficient deterrent effect" - although the conditions of the ban needed to be tightened up. The ban was imposed by the General Medical Council after it found him guilty of serious professional misconduct.


Southall accused Steve Clark of killing his sons, Christopher and Harry, after he watched a television documentary about the case in April 2000. Sally Clark was convicted of murdering the two boys in 1999 but was cleared at the Court of Appeal in 2003.

Southall, who worked at the University of North Staffordshire in Stoke, was called before the professional conduct committee of the GMC after making the accusations.

Last August it found him guilty of serious professional misconduct but the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE), an independent watchdog set up to ensure proper regulation of the medical professions, challenged the punishment in the High Court arguing that it was not harsh enough.


After the ruling, CHRE deputy director Julie Stone said she welcomed the ruling. "CHRE's view was that original conditions on Professor Southall failed to protect the public adequately. The judge agreed and has today confirmed the need to strengthen the constraints on Professor Southall's practice in relation to child protection cases."