Raj Persaud yesterday

Britain's best-known psychiatrist was yesterday suspended from practising for three months.

Celebrity Raj Persaud 45, a household name as a result of his daytime appearances on This Morning with Richard and Judy, had been caught presenting the words of top academics as his own.

But a General Medical Council  disciplinary panel sitting in Manchester ruled that his 'dishonest conduct' had undermined public confidence in the profession.

Dr Anthony Morgan, chairman of the Fitness to Practise Panel, said: 'The Panel has determined that a three-month period of suspension is sufficient to send out a signal to you, the profession and the public that plagiarism is unacceptable behaviour.'

The career of Britain's best-known psychiatrist, a consultant for the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, is now in tatters after he admitted plagiarism.

Before the ruling, GMC members heard from some of Dr Persaud's celebrity supporters, including TV journalist Martin Bashir and the hosts of the Richard and Judy chat show.

Mr Bashir said in a statement read out by Robert Francis QC, defence counsel for Dr Persaud, that he had developed a 'personal relationship for which I'm deeply grateful' with the doctor.

Mr Bashir said his friend was the 'first port of call for broadcasters and media' on mental health issues.

He said: 'He's up-to-date with the latest research and invariably generous in recommending the work of others.'

Mr Francis said Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, the former This Morning presenters, and Cactus TV 'wish it to be known Dr Persaud will remain a valued contributor to their programmes'.

Martin Bashir showed support for his friend Raj Persaud

A statement by Lord Owen, the former health minister, praised Dr Persaud's 'rare skills' and his bridging of the gap between academia and the public's understanding of mental health issues.

Transworld publishers said Dr Persaud had produced important work and hoped to continue working with him.

Dr Anthony Morgan told Persaud: 'You are an eminent psychiatrist with a distinguished academic record who has combined a clinical career as a consultant psychiatrist with work in the media and journalism.

'The panel is of the view that you must have known that your actions in allowing the work of others to be seen as though it was your own would be considered dishonest by ordinary people.

'The panel has therefore determined that your actions were dishonest in accordance with the accepted definition of dishonesty in these proceedings.'

He added: 'The panel has determined that your actions, in plagiarising the work of others, were liable to bring the profession into disrepute.'

Persaud, a former regular on This Morning with Richard and Judy, apologised, but said because of the stress of juggling media and NHS work, he thought he 'was adequately attributing work'.

In his 2003 book From The Edge of The Couch he covered a range of unusual cases highlighted by other psychiatrists.

Counsel for the GMC Jeremy Donne QC told the hearing that although their names were mentioned at the back of the book their words were reproduced as Persaud's own, giving the false impression that the analysis and insights were also his.

Persaud also admitted copying the work of two foreign academics for five articles he wrote for publications including the British Medical Journal and The Independent.

Several academics discovered that whole chunks of their own writings had been reproduced under Dr Persaud's name. When confronted he blamed editing errors.

Dr Persaud said that at the time he believed he had sufficiently acknowledged other authors' work.

He obtained permission to quote them in his book and included their names in the book's acknowledgements section.

He told the GMC: 'I realise I should have been much more careful when I started writing the book.

'At the time, given the stress I was under, given the deadlines and my other work, I thought I was adequately attributing work.'

He admitted he made 'some serious errors' and said he 'deeply regretted' not using quotation marks to denote copied work in his book.

Dr Persaud, who is a visiting Gresham Professor for Public Understanding of Psychiatry and a fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: 'It wasn't my intention to pass off other people's work as mine.'

He apologised repeatedly throughout the four-day hearing for his actions.

Professor Richard Bentall, of the University of Bangor, told the GMC a research paper he co-wrote appeared to have been 'cut and pasted into the doctor's book.

He also said he had uncovered more examples of plagiarism in Dr Persaud's book after comparing passages in it with material on the internet.