A leading Home Office pathologist for East Anglia has voluntarily withdrawn from police work amid growing doubts about his professional conduct.

A Home Office pathologist for East Anglia has withdrawn from police work, amid growing doubts about his professional conduct.

Dr Michael Heath has carried out many post-mortem examinations, providing often pivotal evidence in many major cases in the last 14 years.

But in 2001 his work was called into question, after his findings in the case of the man found dead in entertainer Michael Barrymore's swimming pool differed from those of other pathologists.

The move led to an investigation by the Home Office's advisory board on forensic pathology, and in 2003 complaints about his evidence in two murder cases led to two accused men being freed.

Last night, police in both Norfolk and Suffolk confirmed that Dr Heath, who faces a disciplinary hearing in June, had voluntarily withdrawn from police work until the outcome of the hearing is known.

Dr Heath's post mortem on 31-year-old Stuart Lubbock, found dead at Michael Barrymore's Essex home, concluded that he had drowned, despite three other pathologists claiming that marks on the his face indicated he had died of asphyxia, possibly from having an arm clamped round his throat during a sexual assault.

In 2002 a documentary by the BBC accused Dr Heath of hampering the case by failing to spot crucial evidence.

Then in 2003, further complaints about the evidence that led to the conviction of Lowestoft man Steven Puaca and the arrest of Kenneth Fraser resulted in both cases being re-examined.

In November, Mr Puaca, now 38, was freed by the Court of Appeal. He had been found guilty at Norwich Crown Court in November 2002 of murdering 55-year-old Jacqueline Tindsley at the home they shared in The Hemplands, Lowestoft.

Prosecution witness Dr Heath, who had carried out the post-mortem examination on Miss Tindsley, stated she had been smothered on her bed. But evidence from two other pathologists advanced a possible cause of death as an overdose of drugs, possibly coupled with a fit.

Following the acquittal, a report condemning Dr Heath's finding was published by Lord Justice Hooper.

Mr Fraser was arrested and charged with the murder of his girlfriend after Dr Heath concluded she had died after being hit on the head with a plank of wood, but Mr Fraser was later released after four other pathologists concluded she had fallen downstairs.

Evidence from both these cases will be presented at Dr Heath's disciplinary hearing in June, which could see him struck off the list of 44 accredited Home Office pathologists.