A GROUNDSWELL of support is developing for the North Yorkshire GP struck off last week for his actions as an Army doctor in Iraq nearly ten years ago.

Hundreds of people have now given their support to a Facebook campaign backing Derek Keilloh, the Northallerton doctor found guilty of misleading and dishonest conduct following the death of an Iraqi prisoner in Basra in 2003.

And a public event is to be held in the town early in the New Year, designed to show the depth of feeling and support within the local community for the now-former doctor and his family.

The meeting will also be used to gauge support for a campaign calling for the decision of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service to be reversed – and the possible launch of a petition around the town.

Dr Keilloh, now 38, was a newly-qualified doctor with the Queen's Lancashire Regiment when he tried to save 26-year-old detainee Baha Mousa, who had been beaten by British troops.

But although he had suffered 93 injuries, including fractured ribs and a broken nose, the MPTS found the doctor had been repeatedly dishonest when he claimed he did not see any injuries other than dried blood around his nose.

Former patients have now set up a public event in his support which will be held at the Jolly Minister pub on Valley Road, Northallerton, at 6pm on January 7.

Among those planning to attend is local resident Doug Doherty, whose family have been among the doctor’s patients for a number of years.

“There is a lot of feeling locally about this and we want to see a concerted campaign launched to get Dr Keilloh re-instated,” he said.

The Facebook page – Support Local Doctor D. Keilloh – also carries messages of support for the beleaguered doctor, a partner at the town’s Mayford House surgery.

Said one: “Dr Keilloh is an excellent doctor who turned my life around and I am eternally grateful to him. I would trust him implicitly and would not hesitate to make an appointment with him again.”

Another claimed he had been “hung out to dry and career wrecked” to avoid bad PR for the Army while another described Dr Keilloh as a “genuinely caring and talented GP.”

People planning to attend the meeting are asked to signify their intention on the Facebook page.