UK doctors condemn expansion of General Medical Council (GMC) appeal powers after government 'betrayal'. Since Hadiza Bawa-Garba's case, British doctors have been pushing for the GMC to lose its right to appeal against decisions by medical tribunals that it considers too lenient. This controversial GMC law has been in place since 2015 and has been described by doctors as a double jeopardy for accused doctors. The government agreed to remove it in 2018 following recommendations from a review by Norman Williams, former president of the Royal College of Surgeons. However, there was no change. This year it looked set to happen when GMC chief executive Charlie Massey briefed the Health and Social Care Committee on planned legislative reform in January.