Professor Wendy Burn, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said:
“It is a great pity that Professor Baldwin has resigned as a member of the Expert Reference Group for Public Health England’s important review of prescription-drug dependence.
"He made it clear to me that he felt harassed into resigning over what he viewed as a campaign against him, both in terms of complaints and on social media. He felt that responding to this campaign had become a distraction from his work on the review and was having an impact on his main commitment to delivering patient care.
"It is disappointing that any resignation should take place for these reasons and it is critical that the review and this ongoing debate more generally can be conducted in an informed, professional and respectful manner.
"Given Professor Baldwin’s range of clinical, research and other relevant experience and expertise, he was in a position to make a valuable contribution to the review and it is a significant loss for Public Health England that he was unable to continue in these circumstances.”
For further information, please contact:
- Email: press@rcpsych.ac.uk
- Web: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk
- Contact Name: Hannah Perlin Senior Communications Officer
- Out-of-hours contact number: 020 3701 2738