MoD taken to tribunal after sacking whistleblower

4 February 2015

Dr Stephen Frost was sacked after he blew the whistle over alleged discrepancies in the dispensing of painkillers at an army base.

A judge has granted Frost permission to take the Ministry of Defence to court over the dismissal, which was conveyed to him via text. He had requested a police investigation into the dispensing of morphine sulphate tablets at a base near Blackpool.

Frost says he became aware of a dispensing discrepancy of morphine sulphate occurring two weeks before he started working at Weeton barracks. He had been hired as a civilian doctor in July 2013 through a private healthcare recruitment group, and his contract was due to last until December that year. On 6 September Frost received a text notifying him of his termination while on holiday.

Frost was not told why his contract was terminated, was not given any chance to defend himself, and has suffered severe stress, anxiety and depression.

The doctor played a significant role in the campaign for an inquest into the death of David Kelly at the height of the Iraq dossier scandal. Kelly, a member of a UN team sent to find weapons of mass destruction, was found dead near his home. He had recently been exposed as the source of the claim that Tony Blair had exaggerated the evidence on which the case for war in Iraq was made. The Hutton report concluded that Kelly has committed suicide, however Dr Frost, among others, has voiced his doubt over that conclusion.

Shah Qureshi, Frost’s solicitor, said: “Dr Frost believes he was summarily dismissed because he shone a spotlight on potential criminality at a military barracks. Other members of staff involved continue to work for the MoD while my client has lost his livelihood. To this day it is unclear as to whether the matter was ever referred to the police.”