General practice leadership was in disarray last night after GPs in England ousted their leader, who is on maternity leave, in a vote of no confidence.

The vote sparked a backlash – with public declarations of support for the ousted leader Dr Farah Jameel, however, the BMA committee members are hoping to elect a new chair as they face tough talks over disputed contract changes. But hundreds of people have signed a petition in Dr Jameel’s support.

Since becoming the first woman chair of the GP committee in November 2021, Dr Jameel has faced a turbulent time, making allegations, early on, of sexist behaviour against her – at a time when the BMA had commissioned an external investigation into similar allegations.

A motion put to the committee yesterday said it was deeply concerned at “the lack of clarity surrounding the status of the alleged suspension of the chair”.

The BMA, in its statement, said Dr Jameel has been on maternity leave since last year.

The motion of no confidence was moved by the GP committee equalities chair Dr Rachel Ali, who said its aim was to get a “clear democratic mandate to the leadership of the profession” and was not aimed at the actions of any individual.

Dr Ali said: “We have an absolutely critical window now to safeguard general practice and in these key few months we need to galvanise the committee and organise our colleagues across the country.

“As the GPC equalities chair I want to assure members that we have considered this motion very carefully, and given the Standing Orders of the committee, we feel it is the only fair way forward.”

Her motion added that the committee was “sympathetic towards the chair and the difficult circumstances surrounding her absence” – but demanded elections for a new chair “as soon as possible”.

BMA joint chief executive Rachel Podolak said: “The BMA’s resolution process is run independently and externally to the BMA, as recommended by the Romney and Tierney reviews. The process provides confidentiality to both complainants and respondents. We always aim to conclude all processes as soon as possible.”

One of her supporters Yvonne Coghill, NHS workforce equality lead in London and former vice-president of the Royal College of Nursing, posted on her timeline yesterday: “Totally amiss of me not to publicly and openly thank you for giving up your time to support the #nclfutureleaders programme Farah, your support for the programme and participants was very much appreciated.”

Signing the petition, condemning the vote of no confidence, Coghill stated: “How inhumane and thoughtless are the BMA to suspend a woman just about to give birth and to hold a vote of no confidence when she’s on maternity leave. Cowardly behaviour from an organisation that should know better.”

Another signatory, Dr JS Bramah, former president of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, stated: “The BMA ought to be a compassionate organisation that looks after all members especially those like Farah who’ve contributed a lot. I would urge it to drop this no confidence vote. It’s a very big thing in anyone’s career and it’s the last thing Farah needs. And it’s not right.”