Dr Jennifer Colman's legal action for £5.1m ($8.1; €7.4m) against the General Medical Council has been dealt a blow by the Charity Commission, which has refused to allow the claim to go to court.
Dr Colman, a GMC member who is currently standing for re-election, is suing the GMC for negligence and breach of its statutory duty towards her. She claims she has been stopped from sitting on committees and subjected to a whispering campaign since she raised questions with the Charity Commission about GMC members' expense claims.
The GMC is a charity, and under the Charities Act 1993 most court proceedings relating to a charity require the authorisation of the Charity Commission before they can go ahead. The commission wrote to Dr Colman last month refusing authorisation in her case.
In its letter, the commission says it is unclear about the basis of her claim for negligence or about the duty of care owed to her by the GMC. It says, that without being given further clarification by Dr Colman, it is "unable to say the claim is not ill-founded." It adds that it would be happy to reconsider if Dr Colman were to provide the council with further information.
If she wants to persevere with her claim despite the commission's refusal, she can ask a High Court chancery division judge to give her the go-ahead, but she has only 21 days from 12 March, the date of the letter, to make her application.
She is also seeking to apply for judicial review of the GMC's decision not to let her sit on disciplinary panels since she was asked to step down from a hearing in 2001 after being accused of making biased remarks and prejudging the issues. The hearing of that application was adjourned by the High Court last month pending the results of the GMC elections, due on 1 May.
Last month a £250 000 independent inquiry by George Staple QC, former head of the Serious Fraud Office, concluded that the council was justified in refusing to let Dr Colman sit on professional conduct panels. Mr Staple said she had failed to demonstrate "a judicial demeanour, detachment, and full appreciation of the principles of fairness."
Dr Colman, aged 58, has been a controversial figure since it emerged after she won her seat three years ago that she had been struck off the medical register for serious professional misconduct in 1987. She was removed from the register for convictions for drink driving, refusing to attend a patient, and using offensive and abusive language to staff when she was a preregistration house officer.
She was reinstated the following year after producing evidence that her behaviour was due to a medical condition.
Commenting on the latest development in her case, Dr Colman said the Charity Commission's powers covered only those aspects of her case coming within the definition of "charity proceedings," not the whole claim. "I shall seek leave of the court and also seek to amend my pleadings."
She is one of seven candidates for the central constituency and says in her election statement: "Real help and rehabilitation must replace blame and shame. Elected to GMC in 2000 where my direct intervention has ensured financial accountability over your money . . . I stand for justice, democracy and radical change."