Struck-off doctor continues circumcisions as lay practitioner in regulatory gap

Credit: Getty Images/Daniela Jovanovska-Hristovska

By Claudia Tanner

A former NHS GP who was struck off the medical register after performing a high-risk circumcision on a toddler with a serious heart condition is still performing the procedure legally as a layperson.

Zuber Bux was removed from the medical register in 2021 following findings of serious misconduct, including improperly carrying out the procedure on a 15-month-old boy had previously undergone cardiac surgery for Tetralogy of Fallot. A few hours after the circumcision, the child became ill and was taken to hospital in a potentially life-threatening condition.

Yet he continues to advertise his services as a "circumcision practitioner" across north-west England – which is entirely within the law.

In the UK, there is no legal requirement for an individual undertaking male circumcision to be medically trained or to have proven expertise.

Campaigners say the case of Bux highlights a “catastrophic failure of safeguarding” and are calling on the government to introduce regulation to protect boys undergoing the procedure.