Surgeon told police alleged assaults 'only flirting'

A senior heart surgeon who denies sexually assaulting other hospital workers and has been accused of having a "god complex" told police he was "only flirting".

The jury in the trial of Amal Bose has retired to consider its verdicts on the 14 charges he faces relating to six women at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

The 55-year-old has been accused by the prosecution of committing the offences while he "felt untouchable in his role".

Defending, Tom Price KC, told Preston Crown Court some of the allegations include non-consensual touching and inappropriate behaviour "simply cannot amount to sexual assault".

The court heard the surgeon from Thurnham near Lancaster, was the hospital's head of the cardiovascular surgery department.

The allegations against Mr Bose are that he groped female colleagues while at work.

He told the court it was immature and stupid but denied it was sexual assault and described the actions to police as being part of a "banterous relationship".

The court heard Dr Bose told police on his arrest that it was only flirting and at interview he was "sorry for everything".

When asked in court what he was sorry for, he replied: "I was sorry for the situation".

At the trial, the prosecution accused Dr Bose of having a 'God-complex', and said he committed the offences 'because you were in a position of power to get away with it'.

Mr Bose replied: "I deny having ever done them."

Prosecution counsel Huw Edwards said Dr Bose was "a man who felt untouchable in his role, while touching up female members of staff – believing himself to be beyond reproach".

"He was in his mind, so invaluable that he could do whatever he wanted", Mr Edwards said.

He accused Dr Bose of saying "horrible, misogynistic, sexualised things to women in lower positions".

Mr Price said Mr Bose was "a high-quality surgeon and a man of integrity", and the evidence given by one of the complainants was "inconsistent, unreliable and unsupported".

The jury are out to consider their verdicts after hearing two weeks of evidence.

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