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CAMBRIDGE STUDENT STABBED 17 TIMES OVER 'AFFAIR'
By Robert Stansfield And Aidan Mcgurran
A FEMALE student was stabbed in the face and chest by a woman who believed she was having an affair with her husband.
Former Sky TV news organiser Julie Simpson, 44, was knifed 17 times in her bedroom at Cambridge University.
The blade was plunged into her head and she also suffered horrific injuries as she put her hands up to protect her face.
Her alleged attacker is said to have stabbed Julie thinking she was having a secret fling with her husband who works at the university
Quote:
Police arrested a woman at the scene of the attack and she was questioned.
Last night Alethea Foster, 61, from Bromley, South East London, was charged with attempted murder.
Mrs Foster is one of the UK's top foot doctors and an award-winning author.
She is the leading clinical specialist podiatrist at King's College Hospital in London, specialising in foot care for diabetics.
She has written several books and in 2004 she co-authored the BMA's Medical Book of the Year - A Practical Manual of Diabetic Footcare.
6 October 2005
TOP DOC FACES UNI STAB RAP
By Robert Stansfield
Quote:
AN academic appeared in court yesterday accused of the attempted murder of a Cambridge University student allegedly having an affair with her husband.
Respected foot doctor Alethea Foster, 61, wept as she gazed at husband John from the dock.
Julie Simpson, 44, was found with multiple wounds at Lucy Cavendish college on Monday.
Foster spoke only to confirm personal details to Cambridge magistrates and was remanded in custody until October 12 when she will appear at the city's crown court
Julie, a former BBC TV producer, was last night in a "serious but stable condition" in Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge.
Neighbours at Julie's home in Beckenham, Kent, yesterday claimed she had been seeing a married man for about four years.
Foster, a mother-of-two, is an award-winning author and leading clinical specialist podiatrist at King's College Hospital in London. She lives in a £1.2million, eight-bedroom home in Bromley, Kent.
Absolutely tragic news. My heart goes out to Ali - one of the most respected and well-loved podiatrists this country has ever produced. One just hopes she receives some of the compassion she has shown to countless others throughout her career.
Absolutely agree. She was a visiting lecturer where i trained and i met her several times on placement. A more dedicated carer couldn't be imagined and there's no doubt in my mind this could only have happened under unimaginable stress. IE there but for the grace of god go us all. I also can just hope she is treated with the utmost compassion and understanding. What a tragedy for all involved.
Woman charged with college attack
A 61-year-old woman has been charged with attempted murder after a female mature student was stabbed in the head at Cambridge University.
Julie Simpson, 44, was stabbed at the women-only Lucy Cavendish College on Monday afternoon in what was understood to be a "domestic" incident.
Alethea Foster, of Shortlands, Bromley, sout east London, was due to appear at Cambridge magistrates on Wednesday.
Ms Simpson was stable in Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, on Wednesday.
She underwent surgery after suffering four stab wounds - one to the head, one to the chest and two to her hands.
Mrs Foster was arrested at the scene of the stabbing at the college's Strathaird Building.
STAB victim Julie Simpson may have been partially blinded after being slashed in the face.
Julie, 44, who was knifed 17 times at a Cambridge college, is still in a serious condition at Addenbrooke's Hospital after the frenzied attack on Monday afternoon.
Doctors are confident she will live, but it is believed she may have lost the sight in one eye after she was knifed in the face, chest and hands at women-only Lucy Cavendish College, in Lady Margaret Road.
As the mature student lay hooked up to a ventilator, a retired doctor and award-winning author appeared in court on Wednesday charged with her attempted murder.
Married mother-of-two Alethea Foster, 61, of Bromley, Kent, wept throughout the hearing, speaking in a quiet voice only to confirm her name to Cambridge magistrates.
Her husband of 35 years, John Foster, and the couple's two sons, Julien and William, were in court for her brief appearance.
One theory officers are working on is that Foster attacked the student because she suspected she was having a relationship with her husband.
The foot specialist, formerly the head of podiatry at King's College Hospital in London, was refused bail and will appear again at Cambridge Crown Court next Wednesday.
The Fosters live in a £1.2 million, eight-bedroom house in Kent, and Mrs Foster is one of the most respected foot doctors in Britain.
Last year she won a British Medical Association prize for a book she co-wrote, and she has also won awards for setting up 100 foot clinics to treat diabetic patients in India. I was told the woman attacked her in clear view of everyone in the college and that she wasn't trying to hide what she did.
Former colleagues of Miss Simpson, who worked for the BBC and Sky News before returning to education two years ago, have expressed their horror at the incident.
A statement from the BBC said: "We're shocked by this news and our thoughts and best wishes are with Julie.
"We hope that she will make a full recovery."
Students at Lucy Cavendish and nearby colleges were also appalled by the attack.
A student reading international development at Lucy Cavendish said: "We were only told about it at a welcome party more than 24 hours after it happened and even then it was only referred to as an 'incident'.
"We had to find out more about it from the other students."
The half-Egyptian student has only been at Lucy Cavendish for six days. She said the college had not even told them if a suspect had been caught.
"The principal made an address to us and she seemed very sad about it. We were told that we should not worry."
The student said she thought the attack took place in, or near, the dining area, and not in the residential blocks at the back of the college.
"It is a terrible thing to happen to this woman," she said.
A student from India, who has only been at Lucy Cavendish for two days, said: "Last night I saw some security men walking around outside my window.
"I feel better now that I have been told more about it. Before then we just heard things from other students.
"I was told the woman attacked her in clear view of everyone in the college and that she wasn't trying to hide what she did."
Another said: "I heard that she was stabbed in the eye. It is pretty scary on your first day back to hear about something like this."
A TOP female doctor made a second appearance before Cambridge Crown Court yesterday charged with the attempted murder of a Cambridge University undergraduate.
Married mother-of-two Alethea Foster, 61, of Warren Avenue, Bromley, is accused of stabbing Julie Simpson 17 times, at Lucy Cavendish College in Cambridge, on Monday, October 3.
Ms Simpson, who is 44, is in a stable condition at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge after the attack and has spent a week hooked up to a ventilator.
Doctors are confident she will live, but it is believed she may be left partially blinded after she was knifed in the face, chest and hands.
Foster, 61, formerly the head of podiatry at King's College Hospital in London, is one of the country's best known foot specialists and has written a number of acclaimed books.
Her case has been adjourned until December 16 for a plea and directions hearing. No application for bail was made.
The retired doctor wept throughout her first court appearance on Wednesday, October 5, speaking in a quiet voice only to confirm her name to Cambridge magistrates.
Her husband of 35 years, John Foster, and the couple's two sons, Julien and William, were in court for her brief appearance.
Ms Simpson lives in a 1930s pebble-dashed, three-bedroom house in a leafy street in Beckenham.
Her next door neighbour Sheliane McCarthy told reporters: "She's lovely although she is hardly ever here. This is horrendous.
"When she is here, it is just for a couple of days at a time. I understand she is studying in Cambridge. I think she left here on Sunday.
"She loves doing her gardening out the front, but she doesn't talk to many people."
Former colleagues of Ms Simpson, who worked for the BBC and Sky News before returning to education two years ago, had expressed their horror at the incident.
A statement from the BBC said: "We're shocked by this news and our thoughts and best wishes are with Julie. We hope that she will make a full recovery."
Students at Lucy Cavendish and nearby colleges were also appalled by the attack.
Woman accused of trying to murder student bailed
From CEN NEWS:
Quote:
A WOMAN charged with the attempted murder of a Cambridge student has been released on bail.
Alethea Foster, a renowned foot specialist, appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday (Friday, 11 November) in relation to the stabbing of Julie Simpson, at Cambridge University's Cavendish College, in Lady Margaret Road, in the city's Castle area, last month.
The assault happened at 2.30pm on Monday, October 3 in the leafy grounds of the college and left Ms Simpson, who used to work for the BBC, with stab and slash wounds to her face, chest and hands.
Magistrates had previously refused an application by Foster's lawyer to get her released on bail.
Yesterday (Friday, 11 November) a one-and-a-half hour bail application was held in chambers at Chelmsford Crown Court, at the end of which Foster was granted conditional bail by Judge Gareth Hawkesworth.
She has now been released from custody and is awaiting her next appearance at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday, December 16.
Ms Simpson, a 44-year-old mature student, from Beckenham, Kent, was found by a college porter yards from the college porters' lodge - and was taken in for surgery at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge.
She has now been released from hospital.
Foster, 61, is a foot specialist who has won awards for a medical textbook she wrote. She has also helped establish foot clinics in the developing world.
She wept through her first court appearance, and was supported by husband John Foster.
A doctor denied the attempted murder of a Cambridge University student when she appeared in court.
Alethea Foster, 61, a foot specialist, pleaded not guilty at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday.
She is accused of stabbing Julie Simpson at Cambridge University's Lucy Cavendish College.
Ms Simpson was injured in the alleged assault on 3 October. Mrs Foster was granted conditional bail and the case was adjourned till 3 February.
Under bail conditions Mrs Foster must report once a week to her local police station and she has surrendered her passport.
Other terms prevent her going within five miles of the East Sussex-Kent border and she must not contact her husband John Foster or Julie Simpson, a former BBC journalist.
The case was adjourned to Cambridge Crown Court on 3 February for a review hearing.
THIS is the face of Julie Simpson - the student stabbed in a frenzied attack in the grounds of Cambridge University.
Ms Simpson, 44, was knifed repeatedly in the face, chest and hands at Lucy Cavendish College, Lady Margaret Road, Castle, in October.
The former BBC employee was found at the Strathaird Building just yards from the porter's lodge and taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital for emergency surgery.
Ms Simpson, from Beckenham, Kent, has now returned home, where she is recovering from her injuries.
Dressed in a sombre black suit, with her grey hair tied back in a pony tail, Foster looked tired as she stood to respond to the charge.
Speaking only to say her name and reply "not guilty" to the indictment, she sat nervously through the rest of the hearing.
Her husband John Foster, in suit and tie, sat in the public gallery of Court 3 expressionless as his wife responded to the clerk.
Alethea Foster, a foot specialist who won awards for a medical text book, was arrested at the scene of the alleged attack.
The mother-of-two, who lives in Bromley, Kent, has been granted conditional bail to appear in court on February 3 for a review hearing.
Former colleagues of Ms Simpson have expressed horror at the attack and fellow students said they were stunned such an incident could happen in the normally quiet grounds of the all-women college.
THE trial of a woman alleged to have stabbed a Cambridge University student in a frenzied attack is set to start.
Leading foot specialist and mother-of-two Alethea Foster, 61, is due to appear at Cambridge Crown Court on Monday charged with attempted murder.
Mature student Julie Simpson, 44, was left in a critical condition after being stabbed in the face, chest and hands in the grounds of Lucy Cavendish College on Monday, October 3, last year.
Ms Simpson, from Beckenham, Kent, was found in the Strathaird building, just yards from the security of the porter's lodge.
The former BBC and Sky News employee, who came to Cambridge to study, was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital for emergency surgery.
The incident rocked the normally peaceful, all-women college for mature students in Lady Margaret Road, Castle, Cambridge.
Foster, from Bromley, Kent, who has won awards for her medical textbooks, was arrested at the scene of the alleged attack. She has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.
Foster will be represented by top QC Rock Tansey.
Mr Tansey has worked on dozens of high-profile cases.
He represented Rafael Bravo, the security guard who admitted stealing military secrets and trying to sell them to Russian agents in 2001.
He also represented John McGrady, who pleaded guilty to the murder of Rochelle Holness at the Old Bailey in London earlier this month.
The case was widely reported following the discovery of Rochelle's dismembered body in bin bags on a London housing estate in the autumn of 2005.
Other clients Mr Tansey has represented include Gemma McGarvie, one half of a lesbian couple who stabbed a 13-year-old boy more than 20 times and were jailed for attempted murder in 2002, and some of the families of the 13 black teenagers who died in the New Cross fire of 1981, raising tensions that helped spark the Brixton riots.
The Daily Mail are reporting: Retired doctor denies attempted murder of 'love rival'
13:24pm 24th April 2006
Quote:
A retired doctor repeatedly stabbed a Cambridge University student she believed her husband was involved with, a jury heard today.
Dr Alethea Foster, 61, of Bromley, Kent, attacked Julie Simpson, 44, in a jealous rage after meeting her at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, in October, prosecutors told the jury at Cambridge Crown Court.
Karim Khalil, QC, prosecuting, said former BBC journalist Miss Simpson, of Beckenham, south London, was scarred for life and lost the sight in one eye as a result of the attack.
Mr Khalil told the jury of nine women and three men that Foster was angry about her husband John's relationship with Miss Simpson.
He said Mr Foster and Miss Simpson had met while both were working for the BBC.
They had been lovers and had been involved in a friendship for a long time, he added.
He said Foster had emailed Miss Simpson - a mature student at Lucy Cavendish College - and asked for a "civilised" conversation. But, unknown to Miss Simpson, Foster took with her a kitchen knife wrapped in tissue paper.
And she used the knife to attack Miss Simpson after the two women met in Miss Simpson's room at the college on October 3 last year.
"Mrs Foster stabbed Julie Simpson repeatedly about the head, chest and face, scarring her for life, puncturing one of her lungs and literally stabbing the sight permanently out of one of her eyes," said Mr Khalil.
"We say Alethea Foster plainly meant to kill Julie Simpson in what was a jealous rage against her husband's lover."
From the Daily Mail: Spurned wife 'compared love triangle to Charles and Diana'
Quote:
A Cambridge University student today told a jury how her former lover's wife had likened their love triangle to Charles and Diana's ill-fated marriage before she repeatedly stabbed her.
Julie Simpson, 44, of Beckenham, south London, said that Alethea Foster had told her "to quote the late lamented Princess of Wales, there are three of us in this marriage," shortly before she lunged at her.
Miss Simpson lost the sight in one eye and suffered a punctured lung when she was attacked by 61-year-old Foster in her room at Lucy Cavendish College last October, Cambridge Crown Court heard.
Foster, a retired foot specialist who worked at Kings College Hospital, London, denies attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Under cross-examination today, Miss Simpson, a former BBC journalist, told defence barrister Rock Tansey QC that when Foster made the remark about the royal couple she made no reply and described it in court as a "gross over-statement".
Mr Tansey went on to accuse Miss Simpson of laughing at Foster during a meeting which Foster had organised to discuss Miss Simpson's relationship with her 58-year-old husband John.
But Miss Simpson said: "She said they had not had a sexual relationship for two years, that he wouldn't touch her for two years and that he told her he was impotent."
Mr Tansey replied: "She said 'How do you think that feels?' and you laughed didn't you?"
Miss Simpson said: "I didn't laugh, no. I wouldn't laugh at a remark like that.
"I said 'I'm smiling because maybe he has a third woman on the go'," she said. "I don't think I really believed it, but I was desperate to get the conversation away from her sex life.
"I'm afraid perhaps my attempt to lighten the atmosphere, which clearly failed badly because she then stabbed me, didn't come off.
"I felt dreadfully, dreadfully sorry for her."
She told the court that Foster had smiled at her as she attacked her.
"When striking me with the knife she was gleeful and afterwards in the corridor I was holding her arm," she added. "I knew she was waiting for me to die, she was absolutely content and satisfied."
The court heard that Miss Simpson and Mr Foster, a retired BBC political journalist, had been involved in a relationship for more than 15 years. Miss Simpson today maintained that the sexual relationship was over by the time the attack happened.
"I cannot stand here and give you a date unless its wrong," she told Mr Tansey, adding: "It is very annoying to be stabbed by someone for having sex with their husband, but it is doubly annoying to be stabbed by someone for not having sex with their husband."
Miss Simpson said that she still loved Mr Foster, but said he also loved his wife and family and would put them above her.
"I thought he loved his family very much. I think he still does. I would not put myself as high as his family," she said.
"If you added up all the hours we have spent in each other's company between 1989 and 2005 I doubt you would get to six months."
She added: "I love John. I would never ever ask John to leave his wife. I cannot imagine wilfully or deliberately harming another human being."
Miss Simpson, who had been a friend of the family, said she had urged Mr Foster to lie about their affair.
"I didn't think that his wife should know that he loved another woman," she said. "That would have been devastating for her".
From the Telegraph: I intended to kill myself not my rival, says stabbing wife
Quote:
A jealous wife who stabbed her husband's former mistress with a kitchen knife had planned to slash her wrists in front of her rival after learning about their long-term affair, a court heard yesterday.
Alethea Foster, 61, told detectives after the frenzied attack that she did not intend to harm or kill Julie Simpson, 45, but wanted to kill herself because she could not imagine life without John, her husband of 35 years.
Alethea Foster arrives at court yesterday
"I think I was going to do it there in her room, in front of her," she said. "I did not take the knife to kill her. I took it to hurt me. It was a nightmare."
Foster, a retired podiatrist, is accused of stabbing Miss Simpson, a mature student, 17 times in her in her room at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, leaving her with a punctured lung, blind in one eye and disfigured for life.
She sat in tears in the dock at Cambridge Crown Court as details of her interview with police were read to the jury.
The court heard that Foster felt "miserable, lonely and despairing" after discovering e-mails suggesting that her husband and Miss Simpson, a former BBC journalist, were still sleeping with each other.
Determined to challenge Miss Simpson about the relationship, she telephoned her from her London home and arranged to travel to Cambridge to visit her.
"I said I wanted to talk to her," Foster said. I never meant to kill her or hurt her. I meant to kill myself.
"I took a knife from the kitchen. If after I talked to her it was obvious nothing was going right, I was going to kill myself.
"I could not see a way out. I thought she would confess all the details I didn't know and then I would die. I was so upset. I wanted her to confirm that she loved John dearly and that she would look after him if I were not there."
Foster said that Miss Simpson refused to say anything after she asked her about her relationship with her husband. At one point, she claimed, she laughed.
"The next thing I knew I was in the corridor covered in blood," Foster said. "I remember seeing Julie half-sitting and half-lying on the floor. She said she was thirsty and wanted to drink some water but I said no because if you have been hurt you shouldn't eat or drink. I had a knife in my hand and she was sitting on the floor. There was blood everywhere, on me and her. I can remember saying, 'She's been sleeping with my husband,' and, 'You should not have let me be on my own.' "
Foster said she and her husband started having marital problems 10 years ago when he stopped sleeping with her, telling her that he was impotent. Matters came to a head last February when he admitted to his wife that there were serious problems in their marriage.
"He said, 'I'm very worried about our relationship. I can't see any future in it.' I asked if it was Julie. He said, 'No, I am very fond of her.' " Two months later, after she discovered further incriminating e-mails, he confessed to the affair but denied that he and Miss Simpson were having sex. Foster said: "I was just in a state of total despair." She said she had no recollection of attacking Miss Simpson.
Earlier, a porter at the college described the moment he grabbed Foster as Miss Simpson lay bleeding on the floor.
Thomas Slack said he had no choice but to overpower Foster because he feared that Miss Simpson was dying.
"She was oozing blood, pumping blood," he said. "Kim [the maintenance man] was asking her [Foster] to put the knife down but it was not getting through. I could see the lady [Miss Simpson] sitting down, bleeding away. She was going to die in front of me. I had to do something.
"I jumped at [Foster] and grabbed her arms. She seemed startled by this. The knife was in her hands. I managed to get my hands over her hand and held her by the wrists. She was struggling. I told Kim to take the knife."
Foster, from Bromley, south-east London, denies attempted murder and an alternative charge of causing grievous bodily harm.
The BBC are reporting: Woman has 'no memory' of attack
Quote:
A woman accused of stabbing her husband's lover 17 times has told a court she had no memory of the attack.
Alethea Foster, 61, told jurors at Cambridge Crown Court she was "sorry" for what happened.
She said she had planned to kill herself in Julie Simpson's room at Cambridge University after discovering Miss Simpson's affair with her husband.
But prosecutor Karim Khalil QC told Mrs Foster on Tuesday that "not remembering is not a defence."
Miss Simpson, a 45-year-old mature student from Beckenham, south London, was stabbed in the hall of her Cambridge college in October 2005.
Final statement
Mrs Foster, a retired foot specialist who has been married to her husband John, a former BBC journalist, for 35 years, told the court she was glad Miss Simpson was not dead.
"When I saw Julie on the first day that she gave evidence it was such a relief to me to see her standing there," she said.
In her final statement to the jury, Mrs Foster said: "I am so sorry for what happened. I am so sorry for her (Julie Simpson) and I am so sorry for John."
The court has heard Miss Simpson was blinded in one eye in the attack.
Mrs Foster denies attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Judge to give directions on Cambridge stabbing case
Press Association
Wednesday May 3, 2006
Quote:
A judge is tomorrow expected to give directions in the trial of a hospital consultant accused of attempting to murder her husband's mistress.
Alethea Foster, 61, of Bromley, Kent, stabbed Cambridge University student Julie Simpson, 45, 17 times during a "frenzied" attack in October 2005, Cambridge crown court has heard.
Ms Simpson, who was attacked in her room at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, but lives in Beckenham, south London, lost the sight of her right eye as a result of the attack.
Mrs Foster, a retired clinical podiatrist who is an honorary consultant at King's College Hospital, London, accepts that she caused the injuries, but denies intending to kill Ms Simpson or to cause grievous bodily harm.
Jurors have heard that Ms Simpson had been involved in an affair with Mrs Foster's husband, John, 58, for more than 15 years.
Mrs Foster attacked Ms Simpson after learning of the affair when she found emails on her husband's computer.
Ms Simpson and Mr Foster had met in the 1980s when both were working as journalists for the BBC in Westminster, jurors have heard.
Prosecution and defence lawyers were today making closing speeches to the jury of nine women and three men.
Judge Gareth Hawkesworth is expected to outline the evidence and the law to jurors tomorrow.
Times Online are reporting: Woman who stabbed love rival cleared of attempted murder
Quote:
A wife who stabbed her husband’s lover 17 times in a jealous attack at Cambridge University was found guilty today of causing grievous bodily harm and jailed for 30 months.
Alethea Foster, 61, of Bromley, Kent, was cleared of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent at the end of a high-profile two week trial.
The trial heard how Foster produced a vegetable knife from her handbag after arranging to meet mature student Julie Simpson, 45 of Beckenham, south London. In the frenzied attack that followed, Miss Simpson was blinded in her right eye and left with a pierced lung.
Foster attacked Miss Simpson after hearing of her affair with her husband John, 58. Accepting responsibility, Foster said she had no recollection of the knife attack.
She said her last memory of the incident was of Miss Simpson laughing as she asked about the affair. Mr Foster was said to have become obsessed with Miss Simpson when the two worked for the BBC in Westerminster. The affair was exposed when his wife found emails in his computer.
The court heard how Mr Foster and his lover's relationship had become a close friendship lasting for 15 years. He and his wife stopped having sex in 1989 after he claimed he was impotent.
Passing sentence, Judge Gareth Hawkesworth said that the crime was serious enough to merit a jail term, despite Foster’s disturbed frame of mind.
"By the jury’s verdict it is plain you did not take that knife with you to kill Julie Simpson. It is equally plain to me on the evidence that you were depressed and had you not been depressed then this would never have occurred," he said.
"There are many victims in this case - not just Julie Simpson but you and your husband."
Mr Foster said after the hearing: "The events of October 3 have had a devastating effect not just on the two women involved but on all of us who have been caught up in the aftermath. I still find it almost impossible to believe that the kind, loving and gentle woman with whom I have lived for the best of 40 years could be capable of doing such a thing.
"This private tragedy has been played out in public and I am grateful to the many friends and all those members of both my and my wife’s family who have given me their support - particularly of course to my sons Julian and William.
Mrs Foster was told she must serve 15 months of the prison term before being released on licence. She has already served six weeks in custody from the time of the attack until she was released on bail.
It was part of her bail conditions that she should not contact her husband in any way so they have been unable to talk about the future, even in court where they kept apart from each other.
"The bail conditions have prevented me from seeing or speaking to my wife for almost six months. It is right I should talk to her privately before making any decisions about the future," said Mr Foster.
Detective Constable Karen Brown, who led the investigation, said of Mrs Foster: "Her actions have caused pain, suffering , shock and distress, not just to Ms Simpson, but to family friends and the student community.
"I hope today’s verdict and sentence will afford all those involved some sense of relief."
Date & Time of hearing: 03/08/2007 - 10:30
Health Professions Council - 184 Kennington Park Road, London
Outcome: Struck off
Hearing of the Conduct & Competence Committee
Region: England
Registrant Name: Alethea Foster
Panel: Conduct and Competence Committee
Notice Of Allegation:
Your fitness to practise as a registered health professional is impaired by reason of your Conviction on 5th May 2006 at Cambridge Crown Court for inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Committees Finding:
1. Mrs Foster has attended this hearing and given clear and helpful evidence to the Panel. The Panel has paid careful attention to everything she has said in reaching its decision.
2. The Panel unhesitatingly accepts that the incident on 3rd October 2005 was completely out of character, that it occurred as a result of Mrs Foster being depressed and that there is an extremely low risk of repetition of any offence being committed, let alone one of the gravity of that underlying this conviction. The Panel also accepts that the attack arose in circumstances that did not involve Mrs Foster’s professional practice.
3. However, the incident was an extremely grave one, involving serious and long-term personal injury to the victim. That it was serious is demonstrated by the fact that the sentencing Judge felt compelled to impose a substantial and immediate sentence of imprisonment on a woman of exemplary previous character. The Panel has reached the conclusion that the conviction still has a negative impact on Mrs Foster’s professional standing with the consequence that her fitness to practice is currently impaired. Standards 3 and 16 of the Standards of conduct, performance and ethics are breached.
4. It follows that the allegation is well founded.
5. Since announcing the decision set out in paragraphs 1 to 4 above, the Panel has heard further submissions relating to sanction.
6. The purpose of a sanction is not to punish. Rather it is to ensure that the public is protected and to ensure that public confidence in the profession and in the regulatory process of the HPC is maintained. In this case all the sanction options are available and the Panel has approached them in ascending order of seriousness.
7. The Panel repeats what has already been stated, namely that it does not feel that there is a significant risk of repetition, and hence no sanction is necessary to ensure protection of the public. However, when turning to the issue of public confidence in the profession and the HPC’s regulatory process, it is relevant to note both the gravity of the incident and the fact that Mrs Foster will remain on licence from her sentence of imprisonment for a little over a year from now. The Panel has decided that in order to ensure that confidence in the profession and in the HPC’s regulatory process is maintained the only sanction it can impose is of one of striking-off.
Committees Direction:
That the Registrar be directed to strike Mrs Alethea V M Foster off the register.
Perhaps it is time for the HPC fitness to practice committee to publish the names of each member of the panel for every judgement they make? They are not a secret, Mark managed to get them in the Baldwin case.
We could then see who the 3 moralists were this time.
IMO Ali has done her time, she is most probably not a serial offender. Coming back into society is difficult with a criminal record, but even worse for her as her licence to practice her profession has been withdrawn.
All in the name of ‘ensuring that confidence in the profession and the HPC’s regulatory process is maintained’.
Well if that is the reward for all her hard work and dedication to podiatric diabetic care, perhaps it is a profession she is best out of.
As for the HPC maintaining respect, how can they maintain something they never earned? I suspect that given a choice every Pod in the UK would leave the HPC tomorrow.
Agree with your sentiments, Bob. Regrettably I understand Ali is facing a disciplinary hearing with the Society. Given that the Society has no regulatory function and given the extraordinary dedicated work she has done for the professional body throughout her distinguished career, one would hope the conduct committee might be a little more considerate und understanding when making their decision.
__________________
"citing an indisposition due to special circumstances"
IMO Ali has done her time, she is most probably not a serial offender. Coming back into society is difficult with a criminal record, but even worse for her as her licence to practice her profession has been withdrawn.....Well if that is the reward for all her hard work and dedication to podiatric diabetic care, perhaps it is a profession she is best out of.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Russell
Regrettably I understand Ali is facing a disciplinary hearing with the Society. Given that the Society has no regulatory function and given the extraordinary dedicated work she has done for the professional body throughout her distinguished career, one would hope the conduct committee might be a little more considerate und understanding when making their decision.
Nice to be treated in such a way by your profession after giving so much to it
__________________
Craig Payne
Department of Podiatry
La Trobe University
Melbourne, Australia http://www.latrobe.edu.au/podiatry
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________ God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things - right now I am so far behind, I will never die.
The views expressed above are those of the author and not that of La Trobe University This is where I am, where are you?
I know Ali and am very familiar with and respect her work. My heart goes out to her for what she has gone through because of that. IMHO, she has been punished for her crime.
However, the HPC and Society do have rules and regulations for registrants and members that should be applied to one and all and not make exceptions because we have respect for the work done by the person. That does not mean the rules are not "an ass". I have sat on organisational committees with similar 'dum ass' rules.
Would we feel the same if the HPC struck off and the Society removed from membership an "unknown" for similar reasons? .... maybe we would even cheer them on for doing so!
(BTW, I am not familiar with the HPC and Society rules)
__________________
Craig Payne
Department of Podiatry
La Trobe University
Melbourne, Australia http://www.latrobe.edu.au/podiatry
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________ God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things - right now I am so far behind, I will never die.
The views expressed above are those of the author and not that of La Trobe University This is where I am, where are you?
'Would we feel the same'. Well I do not know Ali and have only briefly experienced her work, but I do believe in natural justice. She has already been punished by a higher authority than the HPC and SCP.
Rules, true both organisations have rules, vague though they are, but did she commit the crime as a Podiatrist or a scorned wife?
The HPC in it's judgement states that she was struck off to make themselves look good. I know nothing about the SCP action.
I have no problem with having rules but these actions are judgements not the application of rules.
I'm sure we all have tales about 'rules', but this week a client described her son who cannot read or write, but is a keen worker, not being able to get a job at a supermarket collecting trolleys because he could not read all the signs! Rule Health and Safety! I wonder how long it will be before we have to do a reading test before we put our coin into the trolley and enter the supermarket.
DDT, I suspect Aus is not far behind us, try the Dominican Republic.
Would we feel the same if the HPC struck off and the Society removed from membership an "unknown" for similar reasons? .... maybe we would even cheer them on for doing so!
Perhaps, but should not any case once it has been dealt with through the criminal justice system be treated with individual consideration by these other bodies ??
The problem is we all have to fit into a "protocol" which sets out a series of boxes to be ticked. EVERYONE without exception must fall into the criteria which as we all know, when you are dealing with people at whatever level cannot be done. No exceptions to the rule,no special circumstances.
We have now turned name and shame into name,shame AND DESTROY
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(BTW, I am not familiar with the HPC and Society rules)
I think they go something like , "if you have any criminal convictions etc etc"
I understand a new database is being set up which will register people with a criminal conviction for speeding ,dropping litter and other such dastardly deeds.
Should that occur I give it about 10 years and we will have no-one left in the professions.
Cheers
Derek
ps
Bob
Quote:
DDT, I suspect Aus is not far behind us, try the Dominican Republic.
You may be right on that one,but I would be careful in your use of the term "DDT" it may be misinterpreted by government officials reading web sites and emails
Should a profession be turning it back on colleagues and cutting them loose in times of problems and need or should a profession be reaching out and supporting colleagues in times of problems and need.
Should a collegue with a drug and alcohol problem be cut loose and abandoned or should they be supported through rehab, supported by peers (within guidelines to protect the public) and guided back to be contirbuting members of the profession and society in general .... I vote for the later.
__________________
Craig Payne
Department of Podiatry
La Trobe University
Melbourne, Australia http://www.latrobe.edu.au/podiatry
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________ God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things - right now I am so far behind, I will never die.
The views expressed above are those of the author and not that of La Trobe University This is where I am, where are you?
Podiatrist charged with attempted murder
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