Struck off Banbury vet wants to return to work
Nick Skelton’s former vet is applying to be restored to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) register after being struck off for “disgraceful conduct” two years ago (news, 22 November 2007).
John Brennand Williams of the Avonvale Veterinary Practice, Banbury, Oxfordshire, certified that three horses, two ridden by Olympic showjumper Nick, were fit to travel to the USA, despite not knowing the results of mandatory medical tests.
He signed documentation claiming Centos, Russel and Namur 47, were clear of the venereal disease contagious equine metritis (CEM) before test results were back from the laboratory.
At the time Nick told H&H that Mr Williams was a “damned good vet” and he had used him for 35 years.
Mr Williams will apply to the RCVS on 26 October to be allowed to return to work.
He appealed against the ban in June 2008 but was unsuccessful.
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.