Campaign group defends "dishonest" doctor struck off medical register for 'shaken baby' evidence

Dr Waney Squier, an internationally-renowned consultant neuropathologist of 32 years, was removed from the register on Monday by a panel of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.

It came after the panel ruled the 67-year-old's fitness to practice was impaired and she had been "deliberately misleading" when acting as an expert witness.

The findings said she had been "dogmatic" about her view that "shaken baby syndrome" did not exist – a view not held by the majority of experts – and had "cherry picked" evidence.

The hearing focused on six cases between 2007 and 2010, including those in which parents were accused of killing their children.

But campaign group Protecting Innocent Families yesterday launched a defence of Dr Squier, calling her "a physician of unwavering intellectual honesty and staggering courage" in a letter singed by 23 people, including medics and parents.

In a letter to the General Medical Council, which led the prosecution of Dr Squier, the group wrote: "We are dismayed that the council is sanctioning her for having the courage and intellectual honesty to express her own views, which are not popular but which are founded on solid scientific thinking and the best available evidence.

"Dr Squier is a brilliant physician whose work is internationally known and respected by the scientific community, with the exception of child abuse experts. Her professional writing is founded in science and the scientific method.

"Her acumen, professionalism, and probity are beyond reproach."