Three paediatricians close to the unfolding of the various inquiries into the work of two recently suspended doctors, Professor David Southall and Dr Martin Samuels, have criticised the handling of the affair and those involved in its prosecution.

In an editorial in the Archives of Disease in Childhood they have called for the establishment of an independent national panel for research integrity to adjudicate on future investigations. The editorial was posted on the journal's website last Friday, but later removed for possible changes.

The editorial was written in the wake of the reinstatement of Professor Southall to his post …