A disgraced breast surgeon is set to be stripped of his £1 million pension pot after he conducted unnecessary operations on more than 1,000 patients.
Ian Paterson, 64, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found to have carried out the procedures on more than 1,000 breast cancer patients over a period of some 14 years.
Inquests into the deaths of 62 patients who were treated by Paterson are to open this month, with another 20 due to open at a later date.
However, if Judge Richard Foster, who has been appointed to lead the inquests, concludes any of the 82 patients died as a result of Paterson’s actions, this could result in further prosecutions.
According to The Sunday Times, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has decided to remove Paterson’s taxpayer-funded pension under rules that allow NHS benefits to be forfeited in the case of criminal, negligent or fraudulent acts.
The newspaper reported that the Secretary of State must authorise the decision and, to qualify,…