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A nurse who falsely accused a taxi driver of rape has been given a lifetime ban from working in the profession.

Fiona Scanlan was struck off by her regulatory watchdog, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and cannot practise anywhere in the UK.

Their decision also means Scanlan is prohibited from being a nurse or nursing assistant in any EU country.

Under EU law, all 27 member states will be automatically told of the NMC ban.

The 41-year-old told police that William Millar had sexually assaulted her in the back of his cab.

But she was sentenced to 13 months in jail after she admitted fabricating her story.

Scanlan, of Yoker, Glasgow, did not appear for her disciplinary hearing at the NMC offices in Edinburgh and was given the permanent ban in her absence.

The hearing, which took place on August 18, was told that every effort had been made to contact Scanlan. But the shamed health worker had not replied to emails and letters informing her of the date.

An NMC disciplinary panel said she had shown no signs of remorse and continues to present a risk to members of the public.

Her actions in falsely accusing the driver of rape were also described during the hearing as “devious” and “underhand”.

Taxi driver William, 57, was arrested and held in custody for 18 hours after Scanlan made false rape claims against him in March 2014.

Scanlan – who has been released from prison – said he pulled into a secluded area and tried to rape her as he drove her home from a wedding at East Kilbride’s Crutherland House Hotel.

But a GPS tracking device fixed to his taxi showed the vehicle did not take that route and proved his innocence. Scanlan admitted fabricating the rape claim at Glasgow Sheriff Court last November.

The court heard Scanlan made the false claim after William ordered her out of his cab because she hurled drunken abuse at him.

Sheriff John McCormick said her behaviour could make it harder to prosecute future rape cases.

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The NMC panel said in a written judgment: “Nurses occupy a position of privilege and trust in society and are expected at all times to be professional. Patients and their families must be able to trust nurses with their lives.

“Her actions, in lying to the police, brought the nursing profession into disrepute and, by her dishonesty and lack of integrity, breached a fundamental tenet of

the nursing profession.

“A striking off order was the only sanction that would satisfy the public interest in the case. This order was necessary to maintain public confidence in the profession and send a clear message about the standard of behaviour required of a registered nurse.”

Scanlan is also facing a separate NMC probe into claims she administered the wrong drugs to vulnerable patients in centres in Glasgow and Lanarkshire last year. She allegedly gave the wrong pills to elderly patients, including ones with dementia and life-threatening conditions, up to four times a day.

The drugs allegations came to light in January after Scanlan was reported by a nursing agency where she worked.

Scanlan was freed from prison in February this year despite only serving three months of the 13-month term after she agreed to wear a tag. She has four weeks to appeal the ban.