An NHS doctor who sparked fury after linking the Covid vaccine to cancers in the Royal Family has refused to back down despite facing criticism from the Prime Minister and an investigation by the health watchdog.
In an exclusive interview with the podcast GB News Originals, Dr Aseem Malhotra, a 46-year-old cardiologist, said: “The backlash was predictable. I was quoting respected oncologists and US health officials. I stand by every word. I won’t apologise for asking difficult questions.”
The General Medical Council is investigating Malhotra’s speech at Reform UK’s conference. The regulator is also exploring earlier vaccine-related claims he has made. The probe might result in restrictions on his right to practise, or even suspension.
Wes Streeting, the UK Health Secretary, criticised Dr Malhotra’s speech, saying: “It is shockingly irresponsible for Nigel Farage to give a platform to these poisonous lies. Farage should apologise and sever all ties with this dangerous extremism.”
Keir Starmer accused Reform of endorsing “shocking and baseless claims that vaccines are linked to cancer” and warned: “These dangerous conspiracies cost lives, and it shows Reform can’t be trusted with our NHS.”
Reform UK responded by distancing itself. While it invited Malhotra to speak, the party insists it “does not endorse” his claim that Covid vaccines played a role in cancers amongst royals.
Dr Malhotra, once a frontline NHS doctor, is no stranger to scientific controversy. He co-founded Action on Sugar, has advised the Medical Royal Colleges, was a trustee of the King’s Fund, and won this year the Excellence in Public Health Communication Award in the House of Commons.
He says that early in the pandemic, he believed the vaccines were safe.
“I went on Good Morning Britain in February 2021 to support the vaccine. I told hesitant people it was safe. I accepted vaccines were safe and effective. I was indoctrinated. I had to change my mind - reluctantly.”
Dr Aseem Malhotra sparked fury after linking the Covid vaccine to cancers in the Royal Family
|GB NEWS
He insists he is not anti-vaccine but alarmed by what he sees as rushed deployment and lack of long-term safety data on mRNA Covid vaccines.
“I fully support traditional vaccines. But mRNA is a new technology that hasn't had any long-term studies done on it.
“Traditional vaccines have five to ten years of studies for safety. There was an absolute certainty at the beginning: safe and effective, safe and effective. How could they say that?”
Dr Malhotra says he was quoting Professor Angus Dalgleish, a respected oncologist, during his Reform speech.
“I was very careful to quote Professor Angus Dalgleish correctly. He asked me explicitly to say that he believes that the Covid-19 vaccines have likely played a significant role in the cancers of members of the Royal Family. Unfortunately, that quote has been attributed specifically to me. I’m not an oncologist.”
He added: “Steven Hatfill, chief medical officer at the US Health and Human Services, said hundreds of peer-reviewed studies revealed harms of mRNA vaccines. He said they were interfering with tumour suppressor genes. That suggests a possible mechanism of how it can cause cancer.”
Critics have accused him of helping fuel vaccine fears. Dr Malhotra disagrees strongly.
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Dr Aseem Malhotra defended his stance at the Reform conference by confirming he was quoting Professor Angus Dalgleish, a respected oncologist
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He told GB News Originals: “It’s secrecy and coercion that fuel conspiracy theories, not doctors like me. The best evidence shows that when there is openness about harms, trust is sustained. When you withhold information, trust collapses.”
He added: “If I stayed silent, I’d be complicit…The public deserves honesty.”
Dr Malhotra has made repeated claims about the role of pharmaceutical companies in shaping science, regulation and public policy.
He said: “The drug industry has an obligation to produce profit for shareholders, not to give you the best treatment. Regulators fail to prevent misconduct, and doctors, academic institutions and medical journals collude with industry for financial gain.”
He criticised drug trial design: “Before a trial even begins, the marketing plan is written. Participants who get side effects are removed before the trial starts. Regulators then rely on summary results written by industry. This is not good science. This is corruption.”
He went on to warn about conflicts of interest in regulation.
“The public and doctors should know: the regulator cannot be trusted as long as it continues to make money from industry.”
He said his stance has come at a huge personal cost.
“The friendships I’ve lost, the abuse I’ve taken — I only do this because I feel duty-bound. I’ve lost all my family. My father was my best friend. He was killed by the Covid vaccine, in my view.”
He added: “I’m a practising Buddhist. I’m taught to have compassion for people who abuse me. But essentially, people are using my speech as an opportunity to smear me.”
He went on to call for an open evidence discussion.
“Debate me. Let Angus Dalgleish debate the president of the British Immunological Society. Let’s have a real discussion. No slogans, no slurs. Put the evidence on the table. The public deserves the truth.”
He insisted: “This isn’t about me. It’s about restoring trust in medicine. If I stayed silent, I’d be complicit.”
The GMC has been urged by several medical bodies to move quickly.
Blood Cancer UK and other charities have said there is no credible large-scale evidence linking vaccines to the cancers cited. And this week, scientists were calling for stronger pushback, arguing the claims risk damaging uptake of other essential vaccines.
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