Surgeon charged over deaths bailed

The charges relate to Mr Walker's time at Blackpool Victoria Hospital

A surgeon charged with the manslaughter of three woman patients appeared before the Old Bailey on Monday.

Steven Walker, 46, was remanded on bail ahead of another hearing in September when he is expected to enter a plea to the charges.

Mr Walker, of Camberley in Surrey, is accused of unlawfully killing three patients when working in the Blackpool area in the 1990s.

He has also been charged with theft and perverting the course of justice.

Two of the patients, Dorothy McPhee, 71, and Jean Robinson, 66, died in 1995 while 63-year-old Margaret Wilson died in 1997.

Mr Walker, who has previously lived in Preston and Leeds and trained at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, had operated on all three women at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

The further charges relate to the theft of an operating theatre register and an attempt to pervert the course of justice by allegedly hiding the register from police.

He was remanded on bail and will appear before the Old Bailey again on 8 September.