PRESSURE is growing on the Friarage Hospital in the wake of the Richard Neale scandal, after the General Medical Council confirmed it is looking into the reference given to the disgraced surgeon which allowed him to continue working in the NHS.

Victims of the struck-off surgeon have called for a public inquiry into the role played by the Northallerton hospital in the Neale affair.

They have also called for the North Yorkshire trust to give compensation to injured patients.

Tory leader William Hague has said there is a "very good case" for a major inquiry.

Neale, 52, from Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire, was struck off the medical register ten days ago for serious professional misconduct.

Ex-patients are angry that Neale was given a favourable reference even though he was already the subject of a number of serious complaints from patients, a total which now stands at 60.

Graham Maloney, who is the spokesman for Neale's ex-patients, said it was "a disgrace" that the Friarage had given him a good reference, which allowed him to continue to work in the health service.

As a result of the reference - which failed to mention that he had been struck off in Canada - Leicester Royal Infirmary offered the bungling surgeon a job.

But bosses from the infirmary contacted The Friarage after they experienced problems with the surgeon.

At the time, Dr Nick Naftalin, a spokesman for the infirmary, said he felt "extreme dissatisfaction" that bosses at The Friarage had failed to give them the full story.

Last night, a spokeswoman for the GMC confirmed that it had begun to look into the circumstances of the case.

She said that it was looking "in particular at an allegation that Mr Neale was provided with a reference which may not have reported fully concerns which were held about his practice".

Any doctor who signed such a document could potentially face disciplinary action, the spokeswoman said.