The new chairman of the British Medical Association council previously compared the suspect in the notorious killing of a health insurance executive in New York with Jesus.
Dr Tom Dolphin, who was appointed at the end of June as chairman of the BMA's governing body, drew comparisons on social media between the alleged killer and Jesus, while also appearing to praise the suspect, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The killing of the UnitedHealthcare chief executive, Brian Thompson, in the heart of New York in broad daylight shocked the world when it occurred at the start of December last year, particularly because it appeared to have been carried out as a cold-blooded assassination.
In one post to his Bluesky social media account shortly after the killing, Dr Dolphin compared a photograph of Mangione being led to a police station by the NYPD to an El Greco painting of Christ after being sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate at 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’...”

The Telegraph notes that the suspect and Ivy league graduate has become a cult hero on the American Left since his arrest and the subsequent discovery of an alleged “manifesto” criticising health insurance bosses for “corruption and greed”, followed by Mangione being indicted for the murder of Thompson.
Stuart Andrew, the shadow health secretary, said of Dr Dolphin's previous comments and the comparison with Jesus: “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 Telegraph notes that the BMA chairman later clarified that while Mangione was “alleged to have used violence to further his cause”, while Jesus “did quite the opposite”.
“I was just struck by the visual imagery and how the NYPD made Mangione look, presumably unintentionally,” he said.
The recent appointment of Dolphin as chairman of the BMA council sparked controversy due to the fact that Dolphin led the BMA’s opposition to The Cass Review, the report that recommended an almost complete ban on puberty blockers for children.
In another article for the Telegraph, Melanie McDonagh writes: "You have to ask: are doctors really best led by a man who takes such a radical approach to giving life-altering drugs to children confused about their gender?
"I’d say it’s proof that the BMA isn’t an organisation that patients or the Government can take seriously."
The Twitter account of Dr Dolphin depicts the BMA logo against a multi-coloured flag representing the LGBTQ+ movement.
Photo: Dr Tom Dolphin. (Credit: British Medical Association.)