it had a licence from the Human Tissue Agency and that McMinn had obtained consent from patients. After this McMinn was asked to justify his actions. He emailed the hospital that month, admitting "the samples were to be used for research, that he had been collecting tissue for 25 years, that he obtained verbal consent and that he had several thousand labelled samples in formalin pots with the corresponding notes, X-rays and investigations". He was suspended that month by BMI Healthcare, who informed the General Medical Council and Human Tissue Authority, though there are no GMC restrictions on his licence to practice as of September 2020. McMinn admitted to keeping patient bones at his farmhouse in Worcestershire and his premises in Birmingham with full knowledge of his colleagues in BMI Healthcare. He said he was keeping the bone samples for his retirement, with hospital staff telling the investigation the samples had been intended "to keep his mind active". West Mercia Police confirmed that they had searched a private premises in Worcestershire while investigating an alleged breach of the Human Tissue Act after being referred to it by the Human Tissue Authority. The internal report was unable to verify the number of samples, though they were told by McMinn's staff that there were 5,224. On 30 September 2020 BMI Healthcare launched a helpline for his patients, listing the number on their website. References External links The McMinn Centre - Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR), Birmingham Mid Head Resection (BMHR) & Birmingham Knee Replacement (BKR) British orthopaedic surgeons English surgeons Living people People from Birmingham, West Midlands Year of birth missing (living people) Medical scandals in the United Kingdom Hospital scandals