A senior hospital doctor who called Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy a ‘monkey bought by Zionists’ has returned to work, in a blow to the Government’s commitment to stamp out anti-Semitism and racism in the NHS.
In March, The Mail on Sunday exposed a series of sickening comments posted online by Aqeel Jamil, a consultant gastroenterologist at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Dr Jamil, who lives in a £1million home in Southampton, declared: ‘Israelis are all fascists.’
He also joined a commentator criticising then Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s response to the Gaza war, writing: ‘Monkey bought by Zionists.’
Following our revelations, Health Secretary Wes Streeting condemned Dr Jamil’s ‘vile racist posts’.
Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust launched an investigation but revealed Dr Jamil has returned to work.
In a statement, the trust said: ‘Dr Jamil has accepted his behaviours were not appropriate.’
The decision comes just a week after Sir Keir Starmer ordered a review of anti-Semitism in the NHS, saying ‘clear cases’ are not being dealt with adequately.
Dr Aqeel Jamil (pictured) previously called Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy a ‘monkey bought by Zionists’ and declared that ‘Israelis are all fascists’
Dr Jamil (pictured) has now returned to work after a Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust investigation
Shadow Health Secretary Stuart Andrew condemned the trust. ‘It is unthinkable that Jewish doctors, NHS staff or patients could be made to feel unsafe or unwelcome because of this kind of hatred.’
The General Medical Council said it was investigating Dr Jamil.
When confronted by the MoS about his online posts in March, Dr Jamil said: ‘I’ve nothing against Judaism. I have Jewish friends.’
Asked if he regretted his comment about Mr Lammy, he added: ‘Yup. Completely.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘Racism is abhorrent and there should be zero tolerance for it in the NHS.
‘We are seeking clarity from the trust while the GMC continues to investigate.’
