No charges for disgraced surgeon

Richard Neale botched operations on a dozen women

A gynaecologist struck off after a series of botched operations will not face criminal charges, it was confirmed on Monday.

Richard Neale, from Boroughbridge in North Yorkshire, bungled operations on 12 women between 1985 and 1998.

Many of the women were left in pain - some were left unable to bear children.

Some of Neale's patients died following surgery.

The surgeon, who worked at hospitals in Northallerton, Leicester and London, was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the General Medical Council (GMC) last year, and removed from the medical register.

However, North Yorkshire Police was carrying out its own investigation alongside that of the GMC.

'No evidence'

The Crown Prosecution Service looked in detail at evidence it produced on five particular cases to see if there was enough to support charges of criminal recklessness or assault.

Two years after the investigation commenced, it has decided that there is "no realistic prospect" of a criminal conviction.

In a statement, a police spokesman said: "When all statements and associated documentary evidence had been gathered, the files were forwarded for expert opinion to Dr Alan Brown, of the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh.

"Further to the matters regarding the deaths and possible assaults, police have also sought medical opinion from a number of sources regarding surgical technique, intervention and consent."

Neale, who qualified in Canada, had already been struck off by the Canadian medical authorities before he moved to England in 1985 and began work in Yorkshire.

However, the UK authorities were not made aware of this.

The police also checked Richard Neale's career and qualifications, and found them genuine, although concerns about his accreditation as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons were not a matter for criminal investigation, they said.

Canadian police are still believed to be investigating two deaths and other matters related to Neale's work.