A doctor who had been suspended for a year after being found guilty of serious professional misconduct has had his registration reinstated.

The Fitness to Practice Panel of the General Medical Council met yesterday to review Dr Paranthaman Sethupathi Bhoopathi's case.

Dr Bhoopathi, of East Morton, who had worked for Bradford District Care Trust as a senior house doctor at Lynfield Mount Hospital, had his registration suspended until March 30.

The panel found Dr Bhoopathi faxed a letter purporting to be someone else and that "his actions in this regard were dishonest and irresponsible".

The panel also found Dr Bhoopathi amended and deleted correspondence on the Trust's computer.

Yesterday in Manchester, it found Dr Bhoopathi's fitness to practice was no longer impaired and his registration will resume in full on March 30.

The doctor told the panel he had spent the last 12 months working full time in an unpaid research post.

At the hearing, Dr Bhoopathi fully acknowledged his wrongdoing and apologised for his behaviour.

The case related to events which took place in 2003, when Dr Bhoopathi faxed two letters to the British High Commission in Chennai, India.

One of the letters was written on Daisy Hill House headed note paper - the Trust headquarters - and purported to be written and signed by a personnel manager.

In fact the letters had been forged by Dr Bhoopathi.

Although Dr Bhoopathi eventually accepted full responsibility and offered his apologies, the GMC said it could not condone dishonesty and found his standard of conduct fell seriously short of that expected.

It found him guilty of serious professional misconduct and suspended his registration as a doctor for 12 months.

The decision led to him losing his job at the Care Trust.