DISGRACED North Yorkshire surgeon Richard Neale is not to be prosecuted, following a two-year investigation by police.

North Yorkshire police said the Crown Prosecution Service had decided there was no realistic prospect of a criminal conviction against the former consultant gynaecologist, who was employed at The Friarage Hospital, Northallerton.

Mr Neale, of Langthorpe, near Boroughbridge, was struck off by the General Medical Council last year for serious professional misconduct.

The GMC was told of a catalogue of errors which patients claimed had left their lives in ruins.

This summer, Health Secretary Alan Milburn ordered an official inquiry into the way complaints against the consultant were handled by the NHS.

North Yorkshire police spokesman Tony Lidgate said today that detectives had closely examined a number of cases, including those of three patients who had died, to see if any criminal offences had been committed and if so, whether there was sufficient evidence to sustain a prosecution.

"Five cases were examined particularly closely because of the nature of the circumstances which indicated a possibility of recklessness or elements of assault," he said.

When all the statements and documentary evidence had been gathered, they had been forwarded for expert opinion to Dr Alan Brown, a consultant specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology.

Medical opinion had also been sought from a number of sources regarding surgical technique, intervention and consent.

"Inquiries have also centred on how Mr Neale secured employment at The Friarage Hospital towards the end of 1984."

Former patients have claimed he was taken on even though he had previously been struck off in Canada.

But police said that while his employment started at the Friarage in January 1985, inquiries with the Canadian medical authorities had revealed that he was not removed from the medical register there until the summer of 1985.

"References supplied at the time in support of his application have been authenticated."

Mr Lidgate said police had prepared a detailed chronology of Neale's career dating back to 1963, which gave general support to his documented experience and professional qualifications.

Concerns raised by patients about the accreditation "FRCS" appearing on Neale's official documents had been examined but police felt the issues surrounding this accreditation "appear to lie outside the criminal arena".

When the Evening Press attempted to contact Mr Neale today, his wife said they did not wish to comment.

Updated: 10:43 Monday, October 15, 2001