Surgeon Dr Mohannad Al-Fallouji faces being struck off after a hearing found him guilty of indecent conduct.

Among the claims against the 46-year-old were that he groped nurses, made sexual advances to students and reduced cancer patients to tears by swearing at them.

The General Medical Council (GMC) professional conduct committee also heard he ruined fellow doctors' careers by questioning their abilities in front of patients and in letters sent to future employers.

At the end of a 16-day hearing in central London, the committee found proved a long series of allegations of misconduct, covering a period between July 1995 and May 1999 when he was working at the Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincolnshire.

Dr Fallouji worked at Pilgrim Hospital

The committee now has to decide whether it amounts to a case of serious professional misconduct which could lead to the surgeon's name being struck off the medical register.

It will reconvene in September or October to reach its final decision.

During the three-week hearing, Dr Al-Fallouji, of Liversedge, West Yorkshire, was branded "a walking terror in a white coat."

Among the allegations of misconduct, it was said that he told a young female student under his supervision that "women were only suited to do breast surgery".

He had told a cancer patient she was lucky because she had time to prepare for her death and make a will.

On another occasion he had pushed a probe into a woman's backside three times so students could have a look, causing her distress.

'Dishonest' letter

He was also accused of sexually harassing 10 female members of staff.

In 1999 he had sent a letter to the University of Jordan expressing concerns about a colleague's abilities when the junior surgeon was applying to be enrolled in a post-graduate course.

The GMC maintained the letter was "dishonest, misleading, and an abuse of your position."

Dr Al-Fallouji vehemently denied the allegations and, during cross examination by Miss Joanna Glynn QC for the GMC, broke down, claiming that he was not being given "a fair trial".