Letters
Should doctors be suspended for breaking the law?
Climate activism: a necessity to protect public health
BMJ 2025; 388 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r549 (Published 20 March 2025) Cite this as: BMJ 2025;388:r549
- Hilary Neve, general practitioner, honorary professor, medical education1,
- Lynne Jones, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist2,
- Katharine Fallon, retired general practitioner3,
- Philippa Matthews, retired general practitioner4,
- Kyra Neubauer, consultant care of the elderly5,
- Martin Fisher, psychotherapist4,
- Alice Clack, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist6,
- Annie Mitchell, chartered psychologist7,
- Jethro Purkiss, specialty doctor in psychiatry5,
- Marion Neffgen, medical psychotherapist4,
- Kirsten Shukla, consultant adult and child psychiatrist4,
- Geraldine James, psychotherapist1,
- Clare Nickells, general practitioner8
- 1Plymouth, UK
- 2Penzance, UK
- 3Manchester, UK
- 4London, UK
- 5Bristol, UK
- 6St Asaph, UK
- 7Newton Abbot, UK
- 5Bristol, UK
- 8Stourbridge, UK
- hilaryneve{at}nhs.net
We challenge Shaker’s recent letter, in which he says that criminal behaviour cannot be excused in the name of activism.1
Firstly, the climate crisis is not the “personal belief” of a few activists but an existential threat to health, driven by fossil fuel burning and based on overwhelming scientific evidence.2
Secondly, his statement that “unlawful” climate activism undermines public trust in the medical profession is not supported by a …
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