The former research dean of Sheffield University’s medical school has been cleared by the General Medical Council of dishonesty in allowing the publication of a false statement saying that he had seen all the data in a research study of which he was the lead author.

The GMC held that although Richard Eastell might have acted negligently, he was not dishonest, he was not guilty of misconduct, and his fitness to practise was not impaired.

Professor Eastell, who heads the bone research unit at the university, was in charge of studies into Procter & Gamble’s osteoarthritis drug risedronate (Actonel). The university conducted measurements on blood and urine samples that had been taken during clinical trials in the 1990s for a study comparing the bone density …