THE disgraced GP who filmed himself sexually assaulting his patients faces a ban in his home country after The Northern Echo alerted authorities to fears he planned to practice abroad.

Officials at the Pakistan High Commission, in London, have pledged that Dr Syed Amjad Husain, from Darlington, will never be allowed to work in the country of his birth.

Husain is starting a three-and-a-half year jail sentence for sexually assaulting five female patients at Darlington's Orchard Court Practice.

The doctor, of Lazenby Grove, Darlington, also confessed to filming his victims as he carried out the attacks. He also admitted downloading child pornography on his computer.

He faces being struck off by the General Medical Council (GMC) when his case is heard in the next few months.

Although this would mean he could never work in the UK, the GMC's action does not extend to other countries.

The Northern Echo understands that senior health officials in the town have already expressed concerns that Husain is planning to move abroad - most likely to his mother country of Pakistan.

The Echo decided to act after medical officials in Britain confirmed that information about disgraced UK doctors is not sent to Pakistan as a matter of course.

After we faxed copies of yesterday's front page story about Dr Husain to the Pakistani embassy, officials vowed that the young doctor would face a ban.

Javed Akhtar, minister for media at the High Commission, said: "People in Pakistan would be outraged by his offences.

"We will be informing the health minister and the Pakistan Dental and Medical Council. They will make sure he does not practise in Pakistan."

He added: "I would like to thank your newspaper for passing this information to us."

Graham Maloney, advisor to the support group set up by victims of former Northallerton gynaecologist Richard Neale, said it was important the authorities in Pakistan were kept informed.

He said: "In Richard Neale's case he was allowed to practise in the UK despite being struck off in Canada after the death of two patients.

"The authorities in this country were told but took no action.

"I think the paper should be congratulated for acting so promptly."

Meanwhile, victims and police were still coming to terms with the doctor's three-and-a-half year sentence yesterday.

Darlington MP and former Health Secretary Alan Milburn added his voice to those who have expressed disquiet about the leniency of the sentence.

Lawyers from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are to ask the Attorney-General to review the punishment handed down at Leeds Crown Court.

Mr Milburn said: "On the face of it, this looks like an extremely lenient sentence.

"I intend to speak to the CPS and the local police about this judgement. To command public confidence it is vital that courts are not only on the side of the victims but that they are seen to be on the side of the victims."

One of Husain's victims said last night she was so angry at the sentence that she was considering taking legal action against him to obtain damages.

"It's outrageous," she said.

Katherine Murphy, spokeswoman for national patients' rights group the Patients Association, backed calls for the sentence to be looked at again.

She said: "This looks very, very lenient. This man took advantage of the most vulnerable of people, from young children to the elderly."