Charlie Massey

Charlie Massey

Charlie Massey is a former UK senior civil servant, now chief executive and registrar at the General Medical Council (GMC), the public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the UK.

Until October 2016 Massey was director general for strategy and external relations at the UK Department of Health, where he served as a top aide to Jeremy Hunt. His appointment at the GMC was condemned by many doctors, 1300 of whom signed a letter of no confidence ahead of him taking up the new role.

Controversy

In July 2016 over 1300 doctors signed a letter of no confidence in the GMC, on the grounds that Massey's involvement in pushing a controversial new contract for junior doctors, which was the cause of a repeated series of strikes by medical professionals, showed a conflict of interest.

In February 2016, Massey caught press attention for being unable to answer questions on the funding of the government's seven-day NHS proposals at a hearing of the Public Accounts Committee.

ACOBA rules new appointment 'not improper'

In July 2016, Massey sought the approval of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) to take on the position of chief executive and registrar at the General Medical Council (GMC), the public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the UK. The committee found that, even though the role would involve contact with government, the transition was not 'improper' and would benefit both the Department of Health and the health care sector. The appointment was approved on condition that Massey would not draw on information available to him from his time in Crown service, and he would not personally lobby government on behalf of GMC, outside of communications that are 'in the normal course of business for the GMC as a regulator'.