The UK authorities took no action for years to stop disgraced ex-NHS Tayside surgeon Sam Eljamel from building his growing empire in Libya, The Courier can reveal.
The lack of effort to thwart him can be exposed in our latest investigation of multiple health and government departments.
The Courier has also obtained photographs of the rogue surgeon at work in Libya which have never been seen before.
They include images of Eljamel at the operating table less than two weeks ago.
We can also reveal alarm within Libya after speaking to medical insiders and activists who allege he is a toxic influence with growing power.
Eljamel fled Scotland in 2018, nearly five years after he was suspended for harming multiple patients who continue to campaign for answers in Scotland.
Two years later we exclusively revealed he was working at a number of medical practices in the Libyan city of Misrata.
One previously unseen photograph from six years ago shows Eljamel sitting at a desk wearing a tartan cap after agreeing to work at a hospital in the city.
The shamed surgeon is still pictured regularly on the social media pages of hospitals in Misrata where he is allowed to work with impunity.
In February 2023, he was pictured mingling with colleagues while giving a lecture on brain tumours at a medical conference in Libyan capital Tripoli.
Despite all of that, there is no evidence any medical or governmental officials made efforts to alert the Libyan health authorities about his behaviour.
Doctors’ regulator the General Medical Council notified some overseas health regulators, including the US, when Eljamel removed himself from its register in 2015.
But the council did not contact Libyan officials until 2023, years after it became common knowledge he was operating in Misrata.
In the intervening years, photographs have even showed Eljamel treating a baby.
The Scottish Government says it had made no contact with the Libyan health authorities and had “no current plans to”.
However, SNP health chief Neil Gray told The Courier he may “consider” such a move in future.
“I would obviously consider it, and that would have to be carefully considered based on various stages of advice,” he told us during SNP conference at the weekend.
He says the GMC role is “prime” but added: “I’ll continue to consider these things as they evolve.”
Mid Scotland and Fife Tory MSP Liz Smith, who fought for a public inquiry, slammed a “failure” of due diligence.
“This is an appalling situation and l am sure it will only add more stress to the lives of Eljamel’s former patients,” she said.
Surgeon’s growing power
While concern grows in Scotland, we can also reveal Eljamel has amassed increasing power in Misrata – Libya’s third largest city – while working across the public and private sector.
Sources in the Libyan medical community say Eljamel, described as a “bully” while working in Scotland, is trying to exert as much control as possible over the health sector.
One insider claims he treats those opposed to his methods as enemies.
They say Eljamel – lauded as a star surgeon in his homeland – has become influential among his Libyan counterparts.
In online promotional material for Al Nahda Hospital in Misrata posted earlier this year, he is touted as a consultant for neurosurgery and an expert in chronic pain.
He also talks up his links to the UK, even though he is no longer allowed to practice here.
Osama Alshhoumi, 41, is a dedicated anti-corruption activist from Misrata who joined the fight to bring Eljamel to justice after The Courier’s coverage of the scandal caught his eye on social media.
Ms Alshhoumi – who lived in Glasgow while studying at Strathclyde University before moving to London – highlighted Eljamel’s butchery to friends back home on X.
“I know people in Misrata,” he says. “They tell me bad things about how he’s arrogant and doesn’t listen.
“What he’s apparently saying is, he had a problem with some consultants in Scotland.
“He’s saying they hate him because he’s very successful, and they’re jealous of him.
“This is b****cks.
“Someone needs to stop this man.”
‘He knew he could get away with it’
Mr Alshhoumi believes the turmoil which engulfed Libya since Colonel Gaddafi was ousted from power may have attracted him to return.
He reckons medical authorities in nearby nations, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, would have stopped him from operating.
“In Libya, with the chaos and lack of proper investigations into his behaviour, he knew he could get away with it,” he said.
One source says Misrata is trying make a name for itself in Libya just now as a city with a strong and extensive healthcare network.
Pat Kelly, a Dundee patient who led the fight for a public inquiry in Scotland, says Libyan patients deserve better.
Mr Kelly told us: “It’s awful. I feel terrible. It’s been so easy for Eljamel to up sticks and do the same thing again.
“Had the authorities acted, people may have been protected. It’s a disgrace.”
Police Scotland detectives have been investigating Eljamel for nearly six years.
The force refused to say whether it had made contact with Libyan officials.
A statement read: “This is an extremely complex and protracted investigation.
“Enquiries are ongoing and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
On previous occasions the Scottish Government has not ruled out trying to extradite Eljamel back to Scotland for the public inquiry.
But last year we revealed investigating officers fear this will never happen.
The Courier has made several attempts to contact Eljamel directly and also approached Libya’s General Health Council for comment.
The Al-Nadha Hospital in Misrata, where he has been known to work, hung up when we asked to speak to him.
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