Inadequately trained doctors are putting the safety of police station detainees at risk and could undermine criminal trials, the British Medical Association has warned.

At its annual conference last week, the BMA said the Metropolitan Police lacked the competence to deliver the clinical governance required for the safe healthcare of detainees.

Dr Michael Wilks, a senior forensic medical examiner (FME) and BMA committee member, said decisions made by a third of the doctors employed by the Met on whether a detainee is fit to be interviewed could be open to legal challenge, as the doctors lack the appropriate experience.

This follows a row between the Met and the doctor’s regulator over the terms of a new contract for its 150 FMEs introduced in January.

Many declined to sign up to the new contracts, leaving gaps in police station coverage. The BMA says the Met has filled these gaps by employing doctors who lack the necessary qualifications or experience to ensure detainee safety.

Ian Kelcey, chairman of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, warned lawyers to ‘enquire vigorously’ into the credentials of doctors.

A Met spokeswoman said all doctors deployed by the Met were registered with the General Medical Council and trained in forensic healthcare.