Dr Sarah-Louise Addis, 34, (pictured yesterday) denies blackmailing her landlord by falsely accusing him of abusing his daughter and threatening to go to the police, a tribunal has heard

An A&E doctor blackmailed a landlord by falsely claiming he sexually abused his own child to get back the deposit on her flat, a tribunal has heard.

Dr Sarah-Louise Addis, 34, accessed his daughter's medical records after learning she was a sex attack victim and told him to give her the cash back or she would report him to police and social services.

In two text messages sent on the same day, Addis warned him: 'This is in no way blackmail. I am giving you the chance to settle this and clear your name', adding: 'Put the money you owe in my account TODAY'.

The innocent man - known only as Mr B because his daughter is a sex crime victim - was later interviewed by the police but no further action was taken against him.

He subsequently complained to Addis' employers because his daughter had in fact been abused by someone else, who was jailed for the attacks.

Dr Addis, who worked at Airedale General Hospital in Keighley, West Yorkshire, is also accused of 'slagging off' the man's daughter for having an abortion he had no idea about.

She allegedly goaded him in the street telling him: 'She wasn't a good Catholic girl', he claims.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service was told Addis had been renting an apartment owned by Mr B and became friendly with his daughter due to their mutual interest in horses.

But the dispute began after the two women went for a 'girlie night' during which Mr B's daughter known as Miss A confided in her that she was pregnant and asked for advice about what she should do.

She also told Addis she had been previously abused and a man was convicted.

Dr Addis, who worked at Airedale General Hospital in Keighley, West Yorkshire, is also accused of 'slagging off' the man's daughter for considering an abortion

But Addis later secretly accessed Miss A's medical records then assumed the suspect was Mr B and began giving intimate details to other 'parties,' it was said.

The matter then culminated in a row between Addis and Mr B outside his home.

Mr B told the Manchester hearing: 'I had been raking leaves out when Dr Addis walked past with her dog.

'She started slagging my daughter off saying she wasn't a good Catholic girl because she had an abortion, which I knew nothing about.

'She said she had seen her medical records and it was wrong. Sarah was screaming and shouting, the neighbours could have heard her and she moved out the next day.

'She said she would report me to the police if I didn't pay her deposit. I can only presume she made those accusations as she sent me those threatening messages threatening to go to the police. I was interviewed by the police but there was no evidence found.'

The first message sent by Addis read: 'I feel duty bound to report to social services an allegation Miss A made to me back in April last year about you and historical abuse - now if she doesn't lie then it must be true and I feel duty bound to inform social services.'

Keen sportswoman Dr Addis, pictured, bonded with her landlord's daughter over a shared love of horses

In a further message sent the same day she added: 'Put the money you owe in my account TODAY.. and admit that Miss A is a liar that caused all this trouble or I shall go to my solicitor and social services in the morning. This is in no way blackmail as if you don't admit Miss A is a liar then I have genuine concerns, I am giving you the chance to settle this and clear your name.'

Dr Addis had become friendly with the man's daughter because they had a mutual interest in horses.

Miss A told the tribunal: 'We had a girlie night with food and wine and just had a discussion between friends. There was no need for her to access my medical records, I had nothing to hide, I would have just told her.

'I don't understand why she accessed my medical records as I would have given her any information she needed to know. It was a horrible time, I was worried and distressed and I didn't know what to do.

Miss A added: 'We got on to the topic of how I had been abused. It went to court and he was convicted and it was a really horrible time. I was confiding in her as a friend about the situation.

'I don't know how it got turned around, but it came back to me somehow that she was accusing my dad of historical abuse, and that is absolutely not the case.'

The tribunal was told Addis got her deposit back after bringing a civil action against Mr B. He later made a counter claim for damages.

Lawyer for the General Medical Council, Peter Atherton, said: 'Dr Addis told the investigator she had accessed the medical records for Miss A and told that she had gained verbal permission for her details to be accessed. But it is the GMC's case that this was not given at all.

'It was the information of what she said to Mr B which had come from the medical record, rather than the information disclosed to her by his daughter.'

Addis, from Skipton, North Yorks who was unrepresented and visibly shaking during the hearing admitted sending the two texts but denied sending them with the intention of Mr B paying her money.

She said of Miss A: 'When she opened up to me about being pregnant I congratulated her. But she was saying derogatory things about her unborn child and saying she was going to abort it, which I don't agree with.

'I didn't offer her any opinions but Miss A telephoned me whilst I was working and told me about bleeding she was experiencing. I asked for her permission to view her medical records and she gave her consent. We had no further conversations after this point.

'I never told Mr B that Miss A had an abortion, I said she was considering termination. In the heat of the moment I may have said she was not a good catholic girl, and I know it is inappropriate. But I did not divulge anything that I didn't already know.

'I was under a significant amount of stress at the time and had to take some time off work. I only viewed her discharge letters, not her medical written notes. She came to me for help and I wanted to help her, I didn't know it would lead to this.

'I regret doing it, I have not done it before and I will not be doing it again.

'Regarding those text messages, there was no intention of blackmail at all. I had genuine concerns about the accusations made. This was not for personal gain.

She added: 'I never said Miss A was a liar. When I saw how abusive Mr B could be during the argument that I thought there might be some truth in what she was saying so I believed I had a duty of care to report those allegations.

'I accept they were malicious allegations but I truly believed I was helping Miss A'.

Addis denies misconduct. The hearing continues.