A TRAINEE surgeon who conned Cambridge University dons into awarding him a fellowship has been suspended for 12 months for dishonesty.
Matthew Williams-Gray, 29, an Oxford graduate, invented a CV full of diplomas, scholarships and published research. He claimed to be a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, to have published four research papers and to have teaching and clinical experience.
He was appointed acting director of studies and preceptor in anatomy at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, in 2002.
Dr Williams-Gray, of Castle Camps, Cambridge, then boasted to fellows and students that he was a neurosurgeon, the General Medical Council (GMC) was told.
But his lies resulted in him being found guilty of serious misconduct. The GMC found yesterday that his fitness to practise was impaired by his “reprehensible” misconduct but decided not to strike him off the medical register.
Advertisement
Iain Chisholm, the panel chairman, told him: “There is no evidence of any harm done to patients. You have learnt a salutary lesson from these proceedings and from the damage done to your own career.”
Dr Williams-Gray was described at the hearing as “a talented, reliable and hard-working doctor”. He had been diagnosed with depression and apologised for his actions.
He said he regretted making the claims but that he did not have the courage to act. He was increasingly stressed by his job at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, where he was a senior house officer, and had been facing family problems.