AN EAST Lancashire liver surgeon whose case was raised in Parliament will take his battle to clear his name to an employment tribunal in February.

Aditya Agrawal’s September appeal against his dismissal was rejected by a special panel at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust’s Royal Blackburn Hospital headquarters.

Now he will seek for the decision to be overturned and compensation awarded at a Manchester Employment tribunal.

The 43-year-old will be accompanied to the hearing by former Tory minister and Worthing West MP Sir Peter Bottomley who raised his case in the House of Commons in June.

Mr Agrawal, now working for no salary in Birmingham, was sacked from his post at the Royal Blackburn and Burnley General on July 9.

He was suspended from his £70,000-plus-a-year consultant’s post in 2011 but his salary was paid until July 28.

The surgeon believes he was suspended and then dismissed because he expressed concerns about patient safety and medical workloads.

His claim at the employment tribunal will be on on grounds of racial discrimination, punishment for ‘whistleblowing’ and unfair dismissal.

Mr Agrawal said: “I just want to clear my name and my professional reputation.

“I lost my appeal and now will take them to an Employment Tribunal in Manchester.

“The case is listed for February.

“The trust left me with no choice.

“ I was open to negotiation but they have not responded.

“Sir Peter will be coming with me to the tribunal.

“I want to work properly again as surgeon. I am currently not being paid.

“It is getting difficult for me even to work as an unpaid locum.

“I am relying on the generosity of friends and family although I have insurance to pay for the tribunal case.

“I am determined to get my life back.”

Sir Peter said: “As an MP I often come across cases of unfair treatment and injustice.

“In my opinion this is an example of a grave wrong.

“I shall be with Mr Agrawal at the hearing in February.”

In the House of Commons on June 2 last year Sir Peter told ministers: “I want to mention the case of a surgeon, Mr Aditya Agrawal.

“He is one of the doctors of black and ethnic minority origin who seem to be treated differently from people who are white. I am not saying that in his case it is purely racial discrimination.”

The dismissal letter from the trust to Mr Agrawal said: “We find that there has been a breakdown in working relationships between you and your colleagues.

“We did not consider that the reason for the breakdown which has led to your dismissal was related either to your race or to your raising genuine clinical concerns in good faith.”

Trust human resources director Kevin Moynes said: “We can confirm Mr Agrawal’s appeal against his dismissal was not upheld, and an employment tribunal is scheduled in February.

“As previously stated, this is an ongoing formal process and we are not able to comment further.”