'Labour link had no influence'

The Whittington's most senior doctor has denied that his Labour Party connections have influenced his stance on the Whittington affair over the last week.

Professor James Malone-Lee, clinical director of medicine at the north London hospital, has been a card-carrying member of the Labour Party for 21 years and played an active role in the party's 1992 and 1997 election campaigns.

As medical director of the Whittington, he has been the public face of the hospital over the last few days, giving countless interviews denying that the three patients at the centre of the row had received inappropriate care.

He also implied that 94-year-old Rose Addis, the woman who sparked the row, was racist - comments for which the hospital's chief executive, Trevor Campbell Davis, has now apologised and distanced himself from.

Professor Malone-Lee has insisted that his political affiliations have not compromised his position at the hospital.

He was one of the signatories to a letter during the 1997 General Election which warned: "If the Tories get in again, the NHS as we know it will disappear." The letter, signed by 59 doctors, was published in The Mirror newspaper during the election, which was dominated by debate over the NHS and other public services.

The 50-year-old Professor said: "I have been a member of my local Labour Party in Harrow since 1980 or '81 and I am what is known as a "leafleting member".

He has fiercely denied any suggestions that his political affiliations have influenced his controversial behaviour during the last week.

"The suggestion that I am some kind of Labour stooge is ridiculous. If people think that, they are barmy."

As medical director of the Whittington, Professor Malone-Lee was the hospital's first port of call when the Evening Standard broke the story of Mrs Addis on Monday.

Always immaculately dressed and frequently interviewed outside the hospital with the A&E department in the background, he overcame his initial nervousness in front of the cameras to emerge as the most vociferous defender of the Trust and its staff.

All allegations were brushed aside by the professor. The Evening Standard's article was inaccurate, he said. Relatives of the patients were wrong. He portrayed all the complaints as personal attacks on his staff, despite the insistence of all the families that they had nothing but praise for the doctors and nurses and that they were criticising only the managers.

He castigated Tory leader Iain Duncan-Smith for "cheap playground bullying" when the MP - whose constituents include the Addis family - raised the issue in the House of Commons.

In contrast, he said he was "hugely grateful" to Tony Blair for backing the hospital, and praised the Prime Minister's "good leadership".