Plastic Surgeon Jailed for Life After Brutal Night-Time Stabbing of Colleague

A plastic surgeon who broke into a fellow doctor’s home and stabbed him in the middle of the night has been jailed for life.

Jonathan Peter Brooks, 61, meticulously planned the attack, even dousing the floor with petrol before stabbing colleague Graeme Perks in a pre-dawn ambush in January 2021. The horrifying assault was described in court as a targeted attempt to silence a whistleblower within the medical profession.

The burns specialist was desperate to get Perks out of the way because the fellow plastic surgeon had been a witness in disciplinary hearings that threatened Brooks’ career and reputation.

Brooks was sentenced at Loughborough Courthouse to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 years, following an April conviction for attempted murder. The trial revealed harrowing details of a long-brewing vendetta within the surgical field.

Judge Justice Pepperall called the attack a “murderous expedition” carried out with chilling precision, branding Brooks’ actions as “appalling crimes.” He also criticised the defendant’s repeated refusal to appear in court, which included a self-imposed hunger strike.

Brooks’s victim was woken up by a loud bang during the break-in at his £1 million home in Halam, Nottinghamshire, and ran downstairs naked to confront the masked intruder.

Dr. Perks initially thought he was speaking to his son. Only later did he realise he had been ambushed by a colleague who had taken extreme steps to conceal his identity. “Nothing was said, and the next thing I remember was feeling a blow to my body,” Perks told police.

“I put my hands to the area where I felt it, and it was warm and sticky. I thought I felt something poking out from my abdomen and decided I must have been stabbed. I needed to get back to the house.”

Doctors who treated Perks at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham estimated he had a 95% chance of dying on arrival. Emergency surgery saved his life, but the injuries were consistent with an intent to kill.

The court heard Brooks had cycled more than 10 miles to the scene, dressed in camouflage and carrying a crowbar, multiple cans of petrol, matches, and a large knife. The premeditated nature of the attack stunned both the jury and the wider medical community.

Prosecutor Tracy Ayling KC said: “His intention was, say the Crown, to break into Mr Perks’s house, set fire to it and, if necessary, stab Mr Perks. In short, he intended to kill Mr Perks by either or both of those means.”

The plastic surgeon was found guilty on April 7 of two counts of attempted murder, attempted arson with intent to endanger life, and possession of a knife.

He had denied all charges throughout, claiming innocence despite overwhelming evidence, including surveillance footage and forensic traces linking him to the crime scene.

After the jury’s verdict, it was revealed that Brooks had embarked on a prolonged hunger strike and had refused to attend proceedings at Leicester Crown Court, citing medical issues. This delayed sentencing drew criticism from the judiciary.

He was also absent during today’s final sentencing hearing, claiming he felt too unwell to make the journey—a claim the judge strongly questioned in light of his repeated history of manipulative courtroom behaviour.

Judge Justice Pepperall stated Brooks had “used hunger strikes or the threat of some other self-harm to achieve some advantage” on “no fewer than eight occasions” since 2021, further demonstrating a pattern of evasion.

The General Medical Council is expected to strike Brooks off the register, although this has yet to be formally confirmed. Medical professionals have since praised Dr. Perks for his courage both during the assault and in testifying against a colleague who sought to destroy him.

This shocking case has sent shockwaves through the UK’s healthcare system, exposing deep rifts and professional rivalries that, in this case, escalated to near-fatal violence.

Published by https://m10news.com | By F. Dayo Olusola | Category: Crime|9, June 2025