A respiratory specialist working for the NHS has triggered outrage after publicly claiming the deadly Manchester synagogue assault was orchestrated as a propaganda stunt to drum up backing for Israel.
Dr Asad Khan, based in Manchester, used social media platforms including Instagram and a private Facebook forum for medical professionals to promote baseless theories questioning the authenticity of the brutal attack that left two men dead.
The incident saw Islamic terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie, aged 35, mow down worshippers in his vehicle outside Heaton Park Synagogue in Crumpsall before launching a knife rampage whilst wearing a fake explosive vest. Armed officers shot him dead at the scene.
The assault claimed the lives of Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, whilst leaving four others wounded. Investigators later confirmed Mr Daulby’s death and another victim’s serious injuries resulted from police gunfire during the confrontation.
Within hours of the bloodshed, Dr Khan, who stopped practising after falling ill with coronavirus in late 2020, began circulating unfounded suggestions the entire episode had been manufactured.
His intervention represents just one example in a troubling pattern of NHS personnel accused of posting anti-Jewish material following the synagogue violence.
Writing in the On-Call Room Facebook group, where qualified physicians discuss professional matters, Dr Khan told fellow doctors he was floating the theory this might be a staged incident designed to mislead the public.
The consultant insisted he retained the freedom to question the official narrative, pointing to what he claimed were previous fabricated anti-Jewish attacks including other synagogue incidents, though he provided no evidence.
His Instagram account subsequently featured similar content promoting the conspiracy theory to a different audience.
Screenshots shared by Dr Khan on X included inflammatory text declaring the Manchester incident represented a perfectly-timed hoax, describing it as preparation for another major atrocity whilst claiming international support for Israel had weakened and required artificial inflation.
Additional material reshared by the doctor attempted to justify violence against Jewish communities in Britain by linking such attacks to Israeli military operations thousands of miles away in Gaza.
One particularly incendiary post stated that if a Zionist synagogue faced assault because of events in Palestine, observers shouldn’t express shock or outrage, arguing the solution lay in preventing Israel from conducting what the post termed genocide.
Recent activity on Dr Khan’s social media showed him amplifying calls for foreign powers to militarily invade and occupy Israel.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting delivered a blistering response, emphasising that anti-Jewish hatred cannot be tolerated anywhere in the health service or wider society, particularly coming two years after the October 7th Hamas massacres and mere days following the Manchester atrocity.
The Cabinet minister stressed the NHS functions as a universal institution where every individual, irrespective of ethnic or religious identity, must feel confident accessing treatment without fear of prejudice.
Mr Streeting acknowledged the grim reality that Jewish patients and healthcare workers frequently don’t experience such safety, vowing to fundamentally transform this unacceptable situation.
The Health Secretary didn’t mince words describing medical practitioners making racist remarks about Jewish people as utterly repugnant behaviour demanding swift consequences, whilst lamenting regulators’ repeated failure to impose appropriate sanctions.
He announced urgent examination of how to completely overhaul the medical oversight framework, which he characterised as demonstrably inadequate for protecting Jewish citizens using or working within the NHS.
Dr Khan’s case forms part of a disturbing trend rather than an isolated incident, with numerous other health service employees facing allegations of promoting anti-Semitic content.
The revelations have ignited fierce debate about whether professional bodies tasked with policing doctors’ conduct are genuinely committed to stamping out bigotry or merely paying lip service to equality principles.
Conspiracy theories alleging terror attacks represent government-manufactured deceptions to justify political objectives have historically been weaponised to dismiss genuine violence targeting Jewish populations.
Britain’s Jewish communities have documented alarming spikes in hate incidents since Hamas launched its devastating assault on Israel in October 2023, fundamentally altering the security landscape for synagogues and Jewish educational institutions.
Armed police now routinely guard places of worship, a dramatic shift reflecting heightened threat levels following the Manchester carnage.
Community leaders have expressed profound anger at suggestions the synagogue attack involved any element of fabrication or manipulation, describing such claims as both insulting to victims and actively dangerous.
The controversy raises profound questions about whether Jewish patients can reasonably trust they’ll receive unbiased medical care from practitioners harboring such extreme prejudices.
The General Medical Council, responsible for maintaining professional standards among doctors, faces intensifying criticism for allegedly adopting an overly lenient approach when handling complaints about hateful online activity by registered physicians.
Medical ethics require practitioners to demonstrate respect for all patients regardless of background whilst avoiding conduct that tarnishes the profession’s reputation through public pronouncements.
This flashpoint has reignited longstanding tensions between free expression and professional accountability, with opponents arguing doctors surrender certain liberties upon assuming positions demanding public confidence.
Advocacy organisations representing Jewish patients have demanded wholesale reform ensuring regulators respond decisively against practitioners whose expressed views could compromise patient welfare and erode trust in healthcare provision.
Ministers are now scrutinising whether current oversight mechanisms possess sufficient teeth or require strengthening to address what officials characterise as wholesale regulatory failure in confronting hatred permeating the health service.
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