Mohammed Asha. Appearances can be Deceptive

Appearances can be deceptive

I have always been rather shocked by the inordinate amount of support garnered by Dr Mohammed Asha. Despite the evidence against him, the world of medicine appears to be accepting him with open arms. Asha though is your regular charmer, a man whose integrity is developed cosmetically by his effusive compliments to the UK. Asha though does not convince me one bit. If any forensic psychologist developed a profile on him, they would understand the manner he has developed. He has the manner of a used car salesman. He could indeed sell sand to the Arabs.

Rupert Price, the consultant neurologist was his referee and one wonders how anyone could be sure that Dr Asha was not all that he was accused to be. Rupert Price did indeed stick his neck out on this one with his shocking reference that Asha would be one of the best neurologists in the UK. That is rather interesting since no one can be sure of anything. This may well have been the reference to spring Asha from the jaws of the Home Office. His colleagues have stood by him through thick and thin.

Colleagues at North Staffordshire University Hospital, where Dr Asha was working at the time of his arrest, stood by him throughout.

Senior consultants lined up to travel to south-east London to tell the court Asha was a dedicated professional and family man.

Consultant neurosurgeon Rupert Price said he gave Dr Asha the best reference he had ever written and would not have been surprised if he became Britain’s top neurosurgeon.

All this camaraderie is touching. Of courseas a British Citizen, a British Trained doctor, a person who saved a large number of people through the Ward 87 closure, none of my colleagues have ever supported me in that way. Sure, I do feel a little taken aback by the unanimous support Dr Asha has garnered. He was a potential terror suspect at the time and obtained more support than I as a NHS Whistleblower ever could. The difference between myself and Dr Asha is this. I don't sit around waiting to charm people. I am not a used car salesman like he is. I tell it like it is and have never deviated from the truth. Even worse for the medical establishment - I am often right in my assessments. That kind of attitude is unacceptable to the NHS. They would rather have someone who had close associations with bombers and extremist material.

And so be it. No wonder the NHS is in such a terrible state - having allowed secret cells of bombers to work there in the first place. No one has inquired as to how the doctors ended up working in the NHS in the first place.

Asha's associations with the bombers was too close. His ability to spin stories is far more slick than his colleagues. He is not an unintelligent man. He has creeped through the GMC procedures and got himself a full registration on the basis of his ability to hoodwink people with his excellent presentation skills. The GMC of course equates politeness to being a good doctor. Of course, Dr Harold Shipman was a polite and unassuming man. How wrong were they there?

The most detailed elements of the Trial are presented by the Sentinel. I am very surprised that the GMC did not engage their usual Rule 57 as they do everytime they can't think of which section of Good Medical Practise it falls under. The GMC is able to deal with pornography downloads. Surprisingly they are not able to deal with " extremist downloads". Sure every doctor can say " Ah I downloaded porn to study anatomy or downloaded extremist material to write a piece opposing it".

Anyway, here is the evidence from the prosecution and intelligence services.

1. A search of Asha’s home in Sunningdale Grove, Chesterton, on June 30, revealed several documents glorifying terrorism.

Jonathan Laidlaw, prosecuting, said: “In a wallet on a bed in the box room, the police recovered a hand-written document in Arabic which includes a poem written in the first person amounting to a pledge of allegiance to Osama, presumably bin Laden. “Fingermarks on documents forming part of this same exhibit match those of Asha.”

2. Mr Laidlaw told the jury that documents found on a laptop at the house had such titles as Verdict Regarding The Permissibility Of Martyrdom Operations and The Clarification Of What Happened In America.Asha, aged 28, who allegedly provided funding and spiritual guidance to Abdulla and co-conspirator Kafeel Ahmed, was also seen trying to dispose of other documents as the police net closed around him.

3. On the evening of June 30, with the investigation into both attacks underway, Asha was put under police surveillance, and was seen leaving his home at 7.19pm, along with his family.

Police officers followed him to Pak Foods supermarket in Stoke Road, Shelton, and to Asda at Wolstanton Retail Park. At both, Asha was seen placing plastic bags into bins.

Mr Laidlaw said: “From the Asda car park Asha drove to the M6 motorway, joining the northbound carriageways, and at just after 9pm the police stopped his Mazda car and Asha was arrested.”

The items Asha dumped included a list of Islamic websites, documents in Arabic, and smashed rewritable CDs.The jury was told that he was the first person Abdulla and Ahmed phoned after their failed bombing bid in London.

After speaking to Asha, the pair caught a train to Stoke, and took a taxi to The University Hospital, where Asha was working. CCTV footage shows Asha walking towards the exit at the North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary just before 6pm, apparently to meet the others.

4.Mr Laidlaw said: “The meeting in Stoke between the bombers and Asha in the immediate aftermath of the failed bombings and before the Glasgow attack is of considerable significance, and demonstrates the importance in Asha’s role in this conspiracy to Abdulla, if not to both men.“After the failure of the London attack Asha was the first person called. The only other person contacted at any stage between the incidents in London and Glasgow was Sabeel Ahmed, Kafeel’s brother.”

Mr Laidlaw suggested that Abdulla and Ahmed, who were now “the most wanted men in the country” needed to speak to Asha about the dramatic change in tactics that would lead to the Glasgow attack.

So all that was factual evidence.

His explanations were that of a intelligent doctor who was trying to get himself out of a tight spot. In the end, in this land of England where appearances mean "everything", this polite unassuming doctor pulled the carpet and played all his cards right. Of course, the difference between playing your cards and the truth is quite significant. Take Osama Bin Laden - a intelligent, well educated business man who would play all the games in the book to get out of a tight spot.

Of course, a smart suit, intelligent conversation and a good appearance does not mean that the person isn't a terrorist. The verdict for Asha says more about what England considers important - ie the appearance of a person rather than national security. As for Mohammed Asha, his tales don't convince me at all. Slithering out of the legal system does not mean innocence. Asha has merely placed a facade over the facts. His protestations of innocence does not remove the facts of the case.

Dr Asha is due to commence work with vulnerable patients and no one intends to prevent it. Perhaps he can now join the Doctors Only website. Its email system was used by all his friends.