When the NHS is treated like a religion, is it any wonder whistleblowers are considered pariahs?

I will start by publicly apologising to Professor Meirion Thomas; in a moment of folly, I erroneously signed a petition decrying his alleged ‘disrespect’ of colleagues, in the wake of one of his articles in the Daily Mail. In my defence, my newborn was crying at the time and I was sleep deprived.

Now, however, I believe that the undignified manner – see the abuse and attacks against him, as detailed in last week’s Spectator – in which members of his own profession reacted to his views speaks ill of the medical profession and says a lot about how public discourse has deteriorated.

I have read Professor Thomas’ articles. I do not agree with all his views but they do contain uncomfortable truths, expressed eruditely and not in the groveling, apologetic manner demanded by today’s delicate souls. The fact that none of his critics could address his points with the same conviction, authority and unambiguousness is telling.