A PSYCHOLOGIST claims his career was destroyed and his life disintegrated after he was taken to court charged with fraud.

Rizwan Qayum, 40, was director of a failing Bradford company that sourced medical reports from experts in claim disputes when he was handcuffed by police at Luton Airport two years ago and kept in a police cell for 18 hours.

Mr Qayum said the accusations that he pretended to be two medical professionals to fake medical reports, had brought shame on himself and his family.

After numerous appearances in the dock at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court and Bradford Crown Court where he constantly denied the allegations, his trial was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service earlier this month because of "difficulties with evidence".

A CPS spokesman said: "The difficulties with the evidence in this case meant we could not prove the charges to the standard required. As a result, there was no realistic prospect of securing a conviction."

The accusations, which spanned between March, 2010 and April 2012, were he had "acted in capacity as a doctor" to file false medical reports to insurance companies. He was said to have dishonestly made a false representation, namely medical reports for eight people, purporting to be orthopaedic consultant Mr A S Maarouf, while intending to make a gain in cash for himself.

A similar charge stated that he made another medical report for one of those eight people, this time purporting to be a psychologist Dr Neil McQuire, intending to make cash for himself. And it was further alleged he made addendum medical reports in three names, purporting again to be Mr A S Maarouf. The reports were said to be for claim management companies, to be forwarded to solicitors and used in county court.

Mr Qayum, of Elliot Street, Shipley, said his Idome company, based in Cornwall Place, Manningham, was being wound down at the time but he maintained he never had any day-to-day running of it because he was busy concentrating on his work as a chartered psychologist travelling through the UK as a medical expert in his own right.

He also frequently travelled to the Ukraine where he was based in Kiev.

"This all came out of the blue when I was handcuffed. From the time that happened and I started appearing in court my whole life disintegrated, my credibility and highest degree of professional integrity was questioned - it clawed into my world and shook it - the work started to dry up.

"I was humiliated and ruined. I was always certain I had done nothing wrong and that kept me going but when I was officially charged it was a different ball game, people assumed the worst and suddenly I had to defend myself for doing nothing.

"It brought shame on my family and made my mother ill."

Now he is free of the charges, Mr Qayum said he is trying to rebuilding his career and reputation.

He added: "Someone, somewhere out there faked those reports but I don't know who it was.

"Someone did do wrong but the police were desperate to pin it on me. After the case was over, I felt numb there was no joy or relief just a need to clear my name and get on with life."