Just Stop Oil doctor suspended for five months

Dr Sarah Benn said that as a doctor, she had a moral duty to take action to protect life and health

A doctor, arrested and jailed for her involvement in Just Stop Oil protests, has had her medical licence suspended for five months.

Dr Sarah Benn, formerly a GP in Birmingham, was arrested after taking part in peaceful demonstrations at the Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire.

Dr Benn, who had already given up practising in August 2022, said that as a doctor, she had a moral duty to take action to protect life and health.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) imposed the suspension on Tuesday after ruling last week that Dr Benn's fitness to practise was impaired.

The doctors' trade union, the British Medical Association (BMA), said it was "very concerned" that a doctor's participation in environmental protests amounted to professional misconduct.

Dr Benn said: "How could my patients trust me again, if I didn’t take action to confront the greatest health crisis we face?"

Disrepute

The General Medical Council (GMC), which referred the case, said the hearing was convened due to the fact her actions at the terminal broke the law, damaging public trust.

Faye Rolfe, counsel for the GMC, said Dr Benn's conduct had brought the profession into disrepute.

The tribunal said in its findings: "The public must be able to trust that doctors will always act within the law."

Dr Benn said the climate emergency was a health emergency which was "happening now".

The hearing related to three peaceful Just Stop Oil protests outside Kingsbury terminal in 2022, despite an injunction against them.

A high court judge jailed Dr Benn for eight days on remand for protests on 26 April and 4 May, after she failed to answer her bail on 4 May and instead attended the demonstration.

On 14 September, Dr Benn was arrested along with 51 others after obstructing a private access road, preventing vehicle access in and out of the terminal.

She was sentenced to 32 days in prison.

Dr Benn told the tribunal that traffic generally passed normally during the protests, and that if the road was closed for any duration, it was for police convenience rather than a necessity.

Dr Benn had previously taken part in climate change protests in September and October 2019, but the GMC closed that case and advised her to "reflect on her actions".

'No public interest'

Dr Emma Runswick, BMA deputy chair of council, had said there was "no possible public or patient interest" for a tribunal where potential sanctions included the removal of a doctor's licence in these circumstances.

Dr Runswick said: "Climate change has been declared the biggest potential health crisis in the world by the World Health Organisation (WHO)."

A spokesperson for the Doctors' Association UK said: "This is a story of a clinician being punished for raising serious concerns about dangerous inaction on the greatest threat to global health we have ever, or will ever experience.

"The right to peaceful protest is a basic human right. It cannot and must not be taken away.

"Given the evidence on climate change and its health impacts, we strongly believe that peaceful protest should not be viewed as condemnable professional misconduct – but as commendable public health advocacy."