with surgeon James Wisheart - denied by the older man - the effect of which was to make Bolsin fear for his career in Bristol.

Fellow anaesthetist Dr Andy Black said that he noticed him getting depressed - and preparing even to leave the hospital.

"I heard Steve was planning to apply for an Oxford job - he told me he was dissatisfied, he told me he didn't think the results were very good in Bristol.

"He told me he'd tried to raise it - I got the impression he'd been told his career would be under threat if he persisted."

Black told Bolsin that if he had a problem, he should get some figures, and then helped him put them together.

The now notorious audit they constructed set the foundations for theexplosion of the scandal.

It revealed evidence of deeper problems - put simply, it suggested too many babies were dying.

Armed with this explosive document, he set off to change the way the paediatric cardiac team regarded its work.

Divided opinions

Black says he always regarded Bolsin as "highly principled", but, just as the Bristol scandal divided medical opinion across the city, there are many who feel that he did not approach the situation in a way that was fair to the surgeons.

While many parents and some doctors eulogise him, others have demonised him.

Many have accused him of leaking damaging stories about Bristol to the satirical magazine Private Eye.

The anaesthetist admits meeting Eye columnist Dr Phil Hammond - then a trainee GP from Taunton - but says he did not know that