A medical license for Dr. Patrick Hart, a general practitioner who previously smashed 16 Esso petrol pumps during a Just Stop Oil protest, has been suspended for another ten months. A tribunal panel found that Dr. Hart demonstrated "no remorse" and showed "contempt both for certain laws and the Tribunal process."
Dr. Hart, who qualified as a doctor in 2010, was a practicing GP in South Bristol at the time of the incidents. In August 2022, he used a hammer and chisel to damage the display panels of 16 petrol pumps at an Esso service station in Thurrock, Essex. This act of vandalism resulted in the closure of the forecourt and rendered three-quarters of the pumps inoperable for 24 hours. He was convicted of criminal damage valued at £11,000 and sentenced to one year in jail, with the judge noting the offenses were "deliberate" and committed while he was on bail.
He had previously been fined £500 for disrupting fuel storage and transportation at the Exolum Pumping Station in April 2022. In May 2023, Dr. Hart also invaded the pitch during the Premiership Rugby Final at Twickenham, throwing orange-colored cornflour. While he was found not guilty of causing criminal damage to the pitch, the cumulative actions led him to refer himself to the General Medical Council.
This latest suspension follows a previous ten-month suspension imposed by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) in 2025. During the recent tribunal hearing, Dr. Hart refused to state that his actions were "wrong," asserting that he acted with integrity and dignity. He likened his actions to those of the Suffragettes, arguing they are now celebrated despite using similar methods to resist unjust laws. Dr. Hart stated he could no longer participate in protests that risk arrest because he did not want to spend the rest of his life in prison, attributing this to "draconian" British laws.
The tribunal acknowledged that Dr. Hart's opinions on climate change were sincere and deeply held. However, the panel determined he had shown no insight into the negative impact of his misconduct on public confidence or the medical profession. Dr. Hart maintained that he had done nothing wrong and was at an impasse with his regulator. The tribunal concluded that he had demonstrated contempt for both the law and the tribunal process, finding his belief in his own excellent insight to be misguided.
Despite these findings, the tribunal decided that erasure from the medical register would be disproportionate at this stage of his review. Dr. Hart noted that he lacked access to resources to maintain his professional skills and knowledge, other than personal reading, and expressed no interest in providing evidence that might lead to him being found impaired due to a lack of insight.