Union leader behind doctors' strikes compared Luigi Mangione to Jesus
Dr Tom Dolphin, chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) council, appeared to praise the 26-year-old Ivy league graduate who was indicted for the murder of the UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York last year.
In one post to his Bluesky social media account, Dr Dolphin compared a photograph of Mr Mangione being led to a police station by the NYPD in December to a painting of Christ before his crucifixion.
He also said that the alleged murderer, who is accused of gunning down Mr Thompson because of his objections to the American health insurance system, '[stood] up to the rich and powerful' and had 'threaten[ed] the wealthy'.
The BMA has announced it will bring some NHS care across England to a standstill on Friday, when 50,000 resident doctors will strike for a 29 per cent pay rise.
The strike has been condemned by Wes Streeting as 'reckless and needless', and the union has said patient safety will be put at risk because the NHS is planning to continue with scheduled treatments during the walkout.
Stuart Andrew, the shadow health secretary, said: 'These are deeply troubling remarks. For the chair of the BMA to be comparing a man charged with murder to Jesus is highly disturbing – and totally unacceptable.
'Mr Dolphin has serious questions to answer, and should immediately withdraw these comments.'
The strike will take place between 7am on Friday and 7am on Wednesday July 30, after ministers refused to agree to the pay increase and pointed out that resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, had received the most generous pay rises of any public sector workers over the last two years.
Dr Dolphin, a consultant anaesthetist in London and failed prospective Labour parliamentary candidate, has developed a reputation as a hardline union activist at the BMA.
In his posts about Mr Mangione, he also criticised US police for the extensive manhunt that followed Mr Thompson's murder on December 4 2024.
He posted a photograph of Mr Mangione's 'perp walk', when he was led away by police officers in an orange jumpsuit, alongside El Greco's 1579 painting 'The Disrobing of Christ'.
'Dramatic scene'
The painting depicts Christ being undressed for the crucifixion, after he was sentenced to death at Pontius Pilate's palace, which is described in the New Testament as the Praetorium.
Dr Dolphin said: 'This dramatic scene was the authorities trying to show what happens when one man stands up against the rich and powerful.
'I don't think this was how the NYPD were anticipating it would look. Perhaps El Greco's piece should be retitled 'Christ's Perp Walk To The Praetorium'...'
He later clarified that while Mr Mangione was 'alleged to have used violence to further his cause', Jesus 'did quite the opposite'.
'I was just struck by the visual imagery and how the NYPD made Mangione look, presumably unintentionally,' he said.
Three days earlier, Dr Dolphin had posted another photo of Mr Mangione's walk to jail with the caption: 'They want to be very clear what happens to people who threaten the wealthy.'
During the five-day manhunt for Mr Mangione, which ended with his arrest in a McDonald's in Pennsylvania, Dr Dolphin posted: 'Good to see the police in the US applying the same level of effort and diligence to finding the Thompson killer that they do for all homicides.'
He added: 'Did you know, privilege literally means 'private law'?'
Mr Mangione denies the eleven state charges and four federal charges against him, which include first-degree murder, murder in furtherance of terrorism, criminal possession of a weapon, and stalking.
His arrest, and the subsequent discovery of an alleged 'manifesto' criticising health insurance bosses for 'corruption and greed', have turned him into a cult hero on the American Left.
Some supporters of Mr Mangione, many of whom are young women, appeared at his federal plea hearing in April to protest against prosecutors' decision to seek the death penalty for him.
In January, a poll of US college students found that half viewed the killing of Mr Thompson extremely or somewhat favourably.
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