A GP who served a nine-month prison sentence for fraud could be struck off when he appears before a professional misconduct hearing next week.

Dr Ashok Bhagat, who practised in Shildon, County Durham, helped to defraud a health authority of at least £20,000.

Along with disgraced Shildon pharmacist Zia Ul-Haq, who was jailed for 21 months, Dr Bhagat set up a scam which involved writing false prescriptions in return for supplies from the chemist. The money would then be claimed back from the health authority.

During the hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, in June 2000, Dr Bhagat was described as "something of a tyrant" towards those who worked with him.

But his defence counsel said many patients and staff supported the GP.

Dr Bhagat, of School Aycliffe, County Durham, has been summoned to a meeting of the General Medical Council's Professional Conduct Committee, in Manchester, on Monday.

He faces an allegation that he behaved in an inappropriate, improper and unprofessional manner towards members of staff.

It is also alleged that Dr Bhagat failed to record prescriptions in the notes of three patients.