27th Oct 2024: Health workers and patients gather to dispel the GMC’s pretence that climate action taken by doctors undermines public trust

- Letter signed by over 2000 people, including high profile signatories from the health, law and scientific communities globally, handed into the GMC. Add your signature.
- Rather than disciplining doctors, shouldn’t we instead demand that those responsible for climate devastation, and other social injustices, face legal consequences themselves?
- GMC must avoid conflating the rule of law with rule by law—the latter being where those in power can arbitrarily agree and apply law as they choose, without accountability
The Public has Spoken, Gathering outside the GMC
At 3:00 PM on Thursday, a group of health workers and patients gathered at the London offices of the General Medical Council (GMC) to hand in an open letter objecting to the decision to suspend two doctors, Dr Sarah Benn and Dr Diana Warner, following their conviction and imprisonment for participation in peaceful climate protests (1). Dr Benn and Dr Warner, who together hold 70 years of collective clinical practice, both received short custodial sentences following peaceful protests taken with Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain in 2021 and 2022 (2, 3). The General Medical Council subsequently referred both to the Independent Fitness to Practise Tribunal where its lawyer argued: 1) that the tribunal should accept de facto the legitimacy of the judges sentencing; 2) that it was not for the tribunal to assess the legitimacy of the “beliefs” that led to the protests; and 3) that Sarah and Diana’s imprisonment undermined the public’s trust in the medical professions.
Global Experts in Law and Health Stand with the Doctors.
Commonwealth Rule of Law lawyer of the year, Melinda Jenki, was amongst Dr Warner’s expert witnesses and argued that current protest legislation and sentencing undermined the Rule of Law, while action to mitigate against government inaction on climate sought to uphold it. She further challenged the GMC to reflect on its own primary legal duty to protect the health of the public within the context of the climate and ecological emergency (4). Also speaking for Dr Warner was psychotherapist and eco-anxiety expert, Caroline Hickman, who spoke about the research describing the extensive psychological impacts of the climate and ecological crisis on young people, published in The Lancet (4).
Despite the lack of evidence to support the GMC’s main assertion that Sarah and Diana’s actions undermined the public’s trust in the profession, the tribunal rubber-stamped this opinion and both were given a temporary suspension from the medical register. Benn is appealing this ruling with the support of the British Medical Association and the appeal will be heard at the High court in December. A further fitness to practise hearing for Dr Patrick Hart, a climate activist and working GP, is due to be heard next year.
Though both Sarah and Diana are retired, the failure of the GMC or Tribunal to consider the context or motives behind the protests, or to engage with the nature of the GMC’s own legal responsibilities in the light of the Climate and Ecological Emergency, is likely to have a chilling effect on other medical professionals who might be considering taking part in civil disobedience.
The GMC’s decisions have been widely and internationally criticised. The British Medical Association (BMA), has expressed ‘serious concerns’ about Benn’s suspension (5), while in relation to Warner, the BMA deputy chair of council, Dr Emma Runswick, said that there was ‘no possible public or patient interest’ in a suspension, and added that ‘maintaining the high standards and good reputation of the medical profession will not be progressed by taking action against those taking part in peaceful climate change action’ (5, 6). Meanwhile the UN special rapporteur on the environment, Dr Michel Forst, made a public statement expressing his concern regarding the suspensions, and indicated that the rulings could be in breach of the Aarhus convention, of which the UK is a signatory (4).
The open letter handed in today, which has attracted more than 2000 signatures, draws attention to the unprecedented scale of the health threat from the climate and ecological emergency, and argues that given the terrifying implications for human health, and the fact that civil disobedience has a proven track-record of altering government policy in this area, it is vital for medical organisations to support those who are urging action to protect patients in this way. It points out that the law currently favours the private corporations that are pushing our climate beyond its limits and criminalises the protesters who challenge them.

High profile signatories (see additional resources)
Among the signatories to the letter are numerous high profile medical practitioners including fellows of the Royal Society of London, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Academy of Medical Sciences, and the British Academy. Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, the artist Cornelia Parker and the human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell, are also signatories, as are leading climate scientists and environmental advocates such as Siân Berry, Brenda Boardman, Dr. Geneviève Guenther, Joanna Haigh, Frank J. Kelly, Caroline Lucas, George McGavin, Professor Bill McGuire, Bill McKibben, James Prosser, Dr. Marina Romanello (executive director of The Lancet Countdown) and Sir Robert Watson.
Quotes in support
David Boyd, former UN Special Rapporteur for human rights and the environment (2018-2024)
“Instead of criminalising these doctors and imposing professional sanctions on them, we should actually be giving them awards as heroes for the planet and public health, these are the kinds of champions who are showing courage and leadership, and we should honour that and not penalise them.“
Lynne Jones OBE, a child psychiatrist working with the WHO and UNICEF, said:
“The suspension of doctors for climate activism makes no sense. The Government’s own guidance states that “health and care professionals should recognise the climate crisis as a health crisis and therefore climate action as a core part of their professional responsibilities”. The GMC’s own guidance states that the duties of a doctor are to “protect and promote the health of patients and the public”, to “make the care of your patient your first concern” and to “take prompt action if you think that patient safety, dignity or comfort is being compromised.” This is what both Dr. Warner and Dr. Benn were trying to do. They should be applauded, not suspended’.
Fiona Godlee, former Editor-in-Chief of the British Medical Journal, said:
“I and many others are deeply grateful to Dr Warner and Dr Benn for putting themselves on the line. They did so as concerned and responsible health professionals, calling out a climate emergency that is already killing people and destroying lives, and which threatens our very survival. Their actions will serve only to increase trust in the medical profession. The GMC’s decision to penalise them, on top of the punishment of the courts, is already on the wrong side of history as the grim realities of the climate crisis unfold. We call on the GMC to reconsider and to properly fulfil its own role as a protector of public health”.
James Dyke, Associate Professor in Earth Systems Science at the University of Exeter, said:
“One of the greatest risks to human health over the course of this century is climate change. This is increasing hazards from heatwaves, floods and storms, along with gradual changes to the distribution of diseases such as malaria. Warming beyond 1.5°C has the potential to produce an unprecedented global health emergency”.
Press Contacts:
Ali Rowe, Child and Adolescent Mental Health – +44 7901 916489
Jason Scott-Warren, Lecturer University of Cambridge – +44 7557 656193
Notes for Editors:
- To the General Medical Council: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LDTUUIOoliZ_w-lA8hK9Jc8gWempndqqDC2sPOE82u4/edit?tab=t.0
- Just Stop Oil doctor’s fitness to practise ‘impaired’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1vw4k9qn29o
- Retired Bristol GPs medical licence suspended after climate protest convictions: https://publiclawlibrary.org/retired-bristol-gps-medical-license-suspended-after-climate-protest-convictions/
- Dr Diana Warner – GMC fitness to practise tribunal: https://www.lar.earth/dr-diana-warner-gmc-fitness-to-practice-tribunal/
- BMA asks GMC to review basis for climate change GP suspension: https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/breaking-news/bma-asks-gmc-to-review-basis-for-climate-change-gp-suspension/
- Ruling against Just Stop Oil protestor alarms BMA: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0x0zzey7lpo
Photos for Media:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zkzIe-2K-z9g5gDx07TQj_qHblgpeXym?usp=sharing
Published Media
The Guardian, 27-10-24: Stop punishing doctors who take part in climate protest, regulator told: https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/27/stop-punishing-doctors-climate-protests-general-medical-council
The Doctor Magazine, 27-10-24: 2,000-signature petition calls for GMC to reverse suspensions of climate activist doctors: https://thedoctor.bma.org.uk/articles/health-society/2-000-signature-petition-calls-for-gmc-to-reverse-suspensions-of-climate-activist-doctors/
Twitter: https://x.com/DoctorsXr/status/1850493282683408837
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBoVa8KI8nR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Additional Resources:
Letter full text with list of signatories: https://tinyurl.com/2d62pzhh
Duty of Care in a Changing Climate, former UN Special Rapporteur for HumanRights and Environment David Boyd: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnJj7XwxlYk
Should doctors be suspended for breaking the law? https://www.bmj.com/content/387/bmj.q1888
Lancet Countdown 2024 Report on Health and Climate Change: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(24)00055-0/fulltex