Doctors Banned Across Europe Found Practising in UK as Post-Brexit Information Gap Persists

Over 100 physicians with foreign sanctions reached British patients after UK was cut off from EU disciplinary database

More than 100 doctors who had been banned from practising medicine in European Union member states were able to obtain or retain licences in the United Kingdom, an investigation by The Times has revealed. The disclosure has prompted the suspension of 11 doctors and renewed scrutiny of the regulatory gap created when Britain left the EU’s cross-border information-sharing infrastructure.

The Mechanism Behind the Gap

At the centre of the failure is the EU’s Internal Market Information (IMI) system, a database through which member states notify one another when a medical professional loses their licence to practise. When the UK left the European Union, it was removed from the system — meaning disciplinary alerts issued against doctors in EU countries are no longer automatically transmitted to British regulators.

The case of William Okanga-Ajwang, 64, illustrates the consequences. Polish authorities stripped him of his right to practise in January 2021, and the Poznan Chamber of Physicians duly notified the IMI system. The UK’s General Medical Council (GMC), however, received no such alert. The asymmetry is compounded by the fact that the UK continues to share its own disciplinary data with EU regulators, while receiving nothing in return.

IMI records reviewed as part of the investigation also show that a doctor struck off in France was permitted to keep his licence to practise in the United Kingdom.

Regulatory Standards Under Scrutiny

Beyond the information-sharing gap, the investigation raises questions about the GMC’s own vetting standards. The regulator has permitted overseas-qualified physicians to register even when they have declared prior malpractice — an approach critics describe as more permissive than equivalent EU frameworks.

In one documented case, a doctor who initially failed to disclose a suspension related to sexual harassment in the workplace was subsequently granted a UK licence on a second application. In two further cases, licences were issued to doctors whose records included examination misconduct and a sanction for a missed diagnosis.

The GMC acknowledged that its removal from EU information-sharing systems has made it harder to construct a complete picture of a doctor’s professional history. The regulator said it carefully reviews concerns flagged by overseas bodies before deciding whether a physician may join or remain on the UK medical register.

Political Pressure Mounts

Conservative MP Greg Stafford called on GMC chief executive Charlie Massey to act immediately, arguing that the newspaper’s own investigation demonstrated what a well-resourced institution should be capable of. “If they can manage it, it shouldn’t be beyond the wit of the medical regulator to manage it,” he said.

Stafford also directed criticism at the current government. “The UK continues to provide disciplinary data to European regulators, while receiving nothing in return. That imbalance is hard to justify and harder still to defend. Labour needs to get a grip on this issue.”

Former health minister Nadine Dorries framed the problem in sharper terms, telling GB News: “Patients in this country have no idea the doctor standing over them may have been struck off in Europe. This concerns people’s health, it should not be political.”

A Structural Problem Without a Simple Fix

The investigation also points to procedural obstacles that slow the removal of problematic practitioners. The formal process for striking off a doctor is lengthy and resource-intensive; as a result, voluntary erasure — in which a doctor removes themselves from the register — has become a more common and cheaper outcome for the GMC, even in cases involving serious concerns.

Whether the UK government will seek a bilateral or multilateral arrangement to restore access to EU disciplinary data remains unclear. No such agreement has been announced. The gap, for now, remains open.