A Staffordshire consultant has accused the medical profession's ruling body, the General Medical Council, of a "terrifying" lapse in security.

The row erupted after consultant neurosurgeon Donald Campbell received an unsolicited letter containing his password and PIN number for a GMC website.

Mr Campbell, who practises in Harley Street, said his security details were poorly protected in an unsealed envelope.

He fears that if the details got into the wrong hands, people could use the data to impersonate doctors.

The information would allow anyone to access and change his details on the website - www.mygmc.org.uk.

"The profession is increasingly becoming the target of frivolous complaints by disgruntled or mentally unstable individuals; this cavalier lack of concern about the website is frankly extremely dangerous," said Mr Campbell.

"If a bank or credit firm spot any unusual activity on your account, someone will contact you to check its authenticity.

"But when I contacted the GMC I was told it's up to the members to check their website entry for any changes, which I find incredible."

Mr Campbell, who previously worked in the computer industry before turning to medicine in 1972, said passwords and PINs are normally sent separately to guard against fraud.

The 57-year-old said: "If this letter had fallen into the wrong hands, someone could have easily got my GMC number from the website and then changed my personal details. Someone could change my ethnicity to fit with theirs, so it would be very easy for a person to assume my identity.

"It's terrifying that the system is wide open to abuse because proper security checks aren't in place."

Mr Campbell has made a formal complaint to the GMC, which has been forwarded to the British Medical Association.

He added: "Apart from the craziness of sending both security elements in the post, any system should have a facility to verify any changes made to personal information."

A GMC spokeswoman said it was standard procedure for a PIN and password for the website to be sent in the same letter.

Doctors would also need their own GMC number to log on, but this is available on the 'check a doctor's registration' part of the website.

She also acknowledged anyone who accessed a doctor's account would be able to change some information, such as their registered address.

It is not known how many letters have already been posted, but all remaining mailshots had been stopped pending an investigation.

The spokeswoman said: " We are grateful to Mr Campbell for raising his concerns about the security of the MyGMC website.

"In fact, the GMC had already considered a separate mailing of the password and PIN. We would like to reassure doctors that we are taking this matter seriously and urge them to contact us if the date and time displayed is not consistent with when they last logged on."