Child abuse: New scandal

A leading doctor was at the centre of a new child abuse scandal today.

Professor David Southall is to appear before a disciplinary panel amid claims he wrongly accused parents of harming their children.

The charges mirror complaints about controversial paediatrician Professor Sir Roy Meadow - whose evidence led to the wrongful removal of dozens of youngsters from their families.

Professor Meadow's reputation was left in tatters last year after courts overturned three murder convictions against mothers jailed on the basis of his expert evidence.

Today it emerged that Professor Southall - an expert in Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy - has been ordered to appear before the General Medical Council following complaints from parents.

The case focuses on his treatment of mothers he suspected were suffering from the syndrome, first identified by Professor Meadow. Both doctors believe the condition drives parents to harm their own children in order to win attention.

But fellow paediatricians, and parents diagnosed with the illness, insist it is far less common than the two men believe.

Experts are now reviewing hundreds of cases in which youngsters may have been wrongly taken into care.

Professor Southall, who is based in North Staffordshire, has courted controversy for years over his methods of secretly filming parents he suspected of child abuse. Many of those subjected to covert surveillance were thought to be suffering from Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy.

Today the GMC revealed it had received two complaints from families about his work. After considering both complaints at a preliminary hearing last week, the organisation has decided to proceed to a full hearing about one of the two cases later this year.

A spokeswoman said: "After examination of the evidence the GMC have decided not to proceed with one of the complaints. The other complaint was referred to the professional conduct committee."

Details of the disciplinary action emerged on the day two mothers launched a separate battle to win back their children after they too were diagnosed with Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy. The women, who cannot be named, will argue that their children were ordered into care on the basis of flawed medical evidence.

The hearing, expected to last two days, is the first of hundreds of care order cases to reach the Court of Appeal after ministers launched a review in the wake of the Angela Cannings appeal.

Dozens of protesters - among them many families whose children have been taken into care in similar circumstances - are expected to demonstrate outside the court today.