Official warning for doc over 'antisemitic' posts

A DOCTOR who joked about “gassing the Jews” has been let off with a formal warning from the General Medical Council (GMC).

- By Sam Volpe

Dr Martin Whyte, a resident doctor, was discovered to have posted on social media phrases including “the holohoax’” - a reference to the The Holocaust - but has escaped further punishment.

Dr Whyte will not face a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing over the allegations, which at a hearing saw him claim his words had been “deliberately twisted”.

A document published online by the GMC detailed the results of a formal hearing which took place in July.

In it, the regulator highlighted that Dr Whyte had not disputed he had used Twitter, now X, for three posts which formed the subject of the hearing.

In regard to two of the posts, the regulator alleged they were antisemitic, while a third was alleged to be grossly offensive.

But Dr Whyte, who works at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, claimed that both posts were in fact satirising the conduct of since deleted posts by other users.

In one he claimed to have been highlighting what he saw as the hypocrisy of Harry Potter author JK Rowling - who had spoken about antisemitism - in relation to the portrayal of goblins in the children’s book series. In the second he said he had been highlighting the hypocrisy of a far right individual who had criticised former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.