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A leading figure in Britain’s anti-vaccination movement who repeatedly spread coronavirus conspiracy theories, and once called the NHS “the new Auschwitz”, has been permanently struck off the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register.
Kate Shemirani, a mother-of-four from Nottingham, had been banned from practising as a nurse under an 18-month interim suspension, imposed last July.
But last Friday the NMC Fitness to Practise Committee issued her with a permanent striking-off order, under which she cannot practise as a registered nurse for at least another five years – after which point she will be eligible to appeal the decision.
In its ruling, the panel, led by Nicola Jackson, found Ms Shemirani “attempted to encourage people to act contrary to public health guidance issued by the UK government by spreading this information through social media platforms and at public events”.
It also noted the former nurse’s repeated intention to act in a “deeply offensive [manner] to the nursing and medical professions, by using inflammatory and derogatory language to describe other nursing and healthcare professionals”.
It comes after Ms Shemirani used her platform as an anti-vaxxer to accuse nurses of being complicit in “genocide” while also labelling vaccination teams “death squads”.
In one social media post, highlighted by the panel in its report, she wrote: “You are not nurses. You are not angels. You are criminals and liars … Patients all with DNRs on arrival. Patient and relatives unaware. Murdered. Genocide.
“The NHS is the new Auschwitz. 4th generation warfare. Silent weapons for quiet wars. You are the target.”
The 54-year-old has made various bogus claims over the past 15 months, with just some noted by the committee being that symptoms of Covid-19 can be attributed to radiation from 5G technology that and vaccines can both cause sterility and change a person’s DNA.
In an interview in January, she told Sky News that “no vaccine has ever been proven safe and no vaccine has ever been proven effective” – and that she had seen “no evidence” to even suggest “a pandemic exists”.
When the interviewer cut in and said, “We know that’s not true”, reminding Ms Shemirani “millions of lives have been saved” due to jabs such as those by Pfizer and AstraZeneca, she replied only: “Simply not true.”
Ms Shemirani gained traction last year after she began using her social media accounts, all under the name “Kate Shemirani – Natural Nurse in a Toxic World”, to promote her own views of the pandemic. The report states she would often refer to herself as a “registered nurse” in videos posted to platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, as well as wear a nurse’s uniform while delivering her messages.
Her accounts with Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook have since been blocked by the respective companies, with the committee noting Ms Shemirani often described face masks as “dirty rags” and even a “muzzle” in videos posted on Facebook Live.
Further, she is said to have previously claimed vaccine ingredients included “acetone and aborted foetal cell tissue that turns into cancer” and once wrote on social media: “There is no Covid-19. It’s a scam. There is however contaminated vaccines, contaminated tests and a lovely direct energy weapon system being primed to activate those nano particles you have injected, ingested and inhaled.”
Ms Shemirani gained an even more devoted following by attending anti-vax and anti-lockdown protests in London last year, in August and September, alongside fellow Covid deniers David Icke and Piers Corbyn. She was one of the speakers at the 19 September rally, at which some 30 people were arrested due to violence between the crowd and police officers.
In the report compiled by the NMC panel, it is noted that Ms Shemirani made no representations to the panel regarding the striking-off order. She is also said to have “indicated that she wants to be removed from the NMC register”.
The committee ultimately found that Ms Shemirani “actively discouraged people from wearing masks, adhering to social distancing, and taking vaccinations” and had “not shown any remorse, nor given any explanation for repeatedly spreading misinformation”.
“Mrs Shemirani is using her nursing status as a way of endorsing her own distorted propaganda,” panel members concluded, before stating the anti-vaxxer would be struck from the register “on both public protection and public interest grounds”.
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