Alder Hey charge dropped

Dr Andrew Selby was accused of telling a couple their baby son's organs would be returned to his body before burial.

But the General Medical Council's professional misconduct committee decided he could not deliberately have lied as he had insufficient knowledge of the pathology process.

He still faces a charge of serious professional misconduct for allegedly telling the parents only a small sample would be removed from the body for the post-mortem examination.

Dr Selby is believed to be the first doctor to appear before the GMC in relation to the scandal at the Liverpool children's hospital.

The Manchester hearing has been told Owen Williams died at Alder Hey aged four months in January 1999.

His parents said they only agreed to a post-mortem examination because they were told by Dr Selby that only a small sample of tissue would be needed to find out how their son died.

They claim he deliberately told them nothing else would be taken knowing it to be false.

The hearing has heard they also later found that that Owen's organs had in fact been removed and retained before he was buried.

They claimed Dr Selby had told them the organs would be put back prior to burial and claim he knew this to be false.

But the GMC tribunal agreed that there was no evidence Dr Selby could have known that this was false, or any evidence that he was at the post-mortem examination or had enough knowledge of the relevant pathology procedures.

Dr Selby denies all charges against him.

The hearing continues.