Imprisonment

PENNY MELLOR - THEIR REVENGE

Woman at centre of Southall case faces prison sentence

Caroline White, London
Robert Freeth, Sunderland

The woman who instigated complaints against consultant paediatrician Professor David Southall, which ended in his suspension from clinical practice for two years, is facing a "substantial" prison sentence. Penny Mellor, who campaigns on behalf of parents who claim to be wrongly accused of child abuse, was convicted last month at Newcastle upon Tyne Crown Court of plotting to hide a child from police and social services.

A family from Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, who feared that their 9 year old daughter was about to be taken into care, contacted Mrs Mellor. The family's fears were groundless, the court heard, although doctors had diagnosed fabricated or induced illness, formerly known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy. At Mrs Mellor's behest, the child and her grandmother travelled to Mrs Mellor's home in Wolverhampton. Mrs Mellor put them in touch with a Scotsman, Stuart Carnie, with whom they subsequently went on the run for four weeks to Ireland and Scotland, the court heard. The parents, grandmother, and Mr Carnie later admitted conspiracy to abduct a child. The family members were jailed for between six and nine months each last year. Mr Carnie failed to turn up for sentencing and is still being sought by police. Judge Guy Whitburn QC granted Mellor bail pending the preparation of a pre-sentence report, but told her: "You would be wise to use this time to prepare for a substantial prison sentence."

Mrs Mellor was credited with forcing Professor Southall's suspension from clinical duty at North Staffordshire Hospitals NHS Trust in November 1999 while the serious allegations she had made about him earlier that year were investigated. Although he has now been completely exonerated by the trust, the string of complaints she made about him to the General Medical Council are still being investigated.

(Credit: THE STOKE SENTINEL)

MELLOR VOWS TO CLEAR NAME

DAVID BLACKHURST
12:00 - 21 March 2002 HEALTH REPORTER

A mother-of-eight today protested her innocence as she was jailed for two years for the abduction of a young girl to keep her from social services. Child welfare campaigner Penny Mellor, aged 40, vowed to clear her name despite being convicted of conspiracy to abduct a child. She claimed she had been prevented from producing key evidence during her two-week trial at Newcastle upon Tyne Crown Court.

Mrs Mellor had been behind a string of complaints which led to the two-year suspension of North Staffordshire paediatricians Prof David Southall and Dr Martin Samuels. A near-million pound inquiry cleared both doctors of all wrongdoing alleged in the complaint which centred on their methods of detecting child abuse in cases throughout Britain.

During the trial, the jury had heard how Mrs Mellor, who was still breast-feeding her seven-month-old baby, was the "Svengali" figure in a plot to hide the nine-year-old child of a Sunderland family from social services. Doctors had diagnosed the child's mother with Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy in which sufferers draw attention to themselves by harming their children. The two North Staffordshire medics are leading experts in the field. The family turned to Mellor because she had founded a campaign charity Families Against Munchausen's Syndrome which made a target of Prof Southall who lives near Leek.

Last year the child's parents and grandmother were also imprisoned. The court had had heard how Mellor co-ordinated the movement of the girl from home and was in constant contact with the family while they went on the run. Before being sentenced, Mrs Mellor, from Wolverhampton, told The Sentinel: "This sentence is despite my proving that vital evidence and witnesses were withheld from court. "I maintain my innocence and pledge to clear my name. "I am stunned I will be sent to prison as a non-violent mother with a seven-month-old baby. I pose no threat to society."

Following sentencing, the child's grandmother, who has now completed her jail term, said: "This is a total injustice - locking her up isn't serving anything. She will be separated from the children she loves so dearly and for what? Trying to help others whose children are in trouble."

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