Dr Asad Khan made his remarks in a Facebook group (Image: Facebook)
A Manchester-based NHS consultant has sparked outrage by claiming that a deadly terror attack on a synagogue was a “false flag operation” orchestrated to garner sympathy for Israel. Respiratory specialist Dr Asad Khan made the allegation in a private Facebook group for doctors on the day of the atrocity outside Heaton Park Synagogue in Crumpsall, in which two worshippers were killed.
Islamic extremist Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, who was wearing a fake suicide belt, was shot dead by police after driving a vehicle into a group of Jewish community members before stabbing them. Victims Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were killed, with four others injured. It subsequently emerged that Mr Daulby’s fatal wounds and serious injuries to another survivor were caused by a police bullet.
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Jihad Al-Shamie, the terrorist who killed two Jewish people on Yom Kippur in the suburb he grew up P (Image: NC)
In the On-Call Room group – a 17,000-member Facebook forum for General Medical Council-registered doctors – Dr Khan responded to a discussion about the attack, claiming: “I am raising the possibility of this being a false flag. I may be right or wrong. I have the right to speculate.
“There have been false-flag antisemitic incidents before, including synagogue attacks.”
He promoted the theory further on Instagram, sharing a screenshot of an X post which described the incident as a “conveniently-timed false flag” and a “warm up for the next October 7”, claiming Israeli sympathy was waning.
Dr Khan further reposted an X thread blaming Israel for the violence, which argued: “If a pro-Israel Zionist synagogue in the UK was attacked because of the genocide in Palestine, then we shouldn’t be surprised or horrified… If you want Jews to feel safe, stop allowing Zionist Jews to annihilate Palestinians in the name of their Jewishness.”
Voice of Manchester synagogue terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie
This week, he retweeted a post calling for Israel to be “invaded and occupied”, and shared content denying sexual violence by Hamas during its October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
Dr Khan, who gained national attention for contracting long Covid while working on an urgent care ward in November 2020, has not commented publicly on his posts.
The On-Call Room group, praised in reviews as the “naughtiest medical forum in the West”, has hosted other controversial content, including memes and debates on NHS issues.
The claims triggered a fierce backlash, with campaigners branding them as dangerous disinformation that undermines trust in the medical profession and inflicts fresh pain on grieving families.
The scene at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, where two people di (Image: PA)
Alex Hearn, co-director of Labour Against Antisemitism, led the condemnation in an investigation by The Times, describing Dr Khan’s remarks as “atrocity denial and disinformation” that “causes huge distress to the victims’ families and the community”.
Mr Hearn warned that such rhetoric “can incite further violence by invoking hatred, fear, and resentment”, adding that for a registered doctor to promote these ideas “goes against the core mission of health professionals and creates distrust of the profession”.
He also demanded Khan “should be struck off immediately”, highlighting Dr Khan’s additional posts—including one claiming hatred of Jews is “valid” due to “Jewish supremacy”—as evidence of a “sick fixation” in the group that fosters “hostility and misinformation”.
Social media users branded Dr Khan a “hideous Hamas supporter”, urging the NHS to “sack this man now”.
Others challenged Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Prime Minister Keir Starmer to act.
The episode comes amid a surge in antisemitic incidents in the NHS since Hamas’s 7 October attacks, which killed 1,200 Israelis and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza has resulted in over 67,000 Palestinian deaths, according to health authorities.
Nearly 500 complaints about 123 doctors have been lodged with the GMC since the conflict escalated, though 84% were closed at triage.
Mr Streeting said: “Two years on from the horrific events of October 7th and just days after a despicable attack on our nation’s Jewish community, we must be unequivocal that antisemitism has absolutely no place in our NHS, or anywhere in our society.
“The NHS is a universal health service, which means that everyone, regardless of race, religion, or creed, should feel safe seeking its care. I deplore the fact that this is frankly not the current reality for many Jewish patients and staff, and I am determined to change this for once and for all.
“It should go without saying that doctors making racist comments about Jewish people is abhorrent and demands action. Yet all too often, appropriate action by regulators has been sorely lacking.
“It is clear that the current medical regulatory system is completely failing to protect Jewish patients and NHS staff. I am looking urgently at how we can overhaul the current regime, which has been found completely wanting.”
