The head of the Government’s fertility watchdog was under pressure last night to resign after raids on the clinics of Britain’s most successful IVF doctor were ruled unlawful, leaving the regulator facing a legal bill that could exceed £1 million.

Warrants authorising the search of Mohammed Taranissi’s two London premises in January were quashed yesterday by the High Court, after the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) admitted that it had presented insufficient evidence to justify them. It had been investigating claims that the doctor had practised illegally without a licence.

The authority has agreed to pay most of Mr Taranissi’s costs, which his lawyers estimate at £1.2 million — more than a tenth of the regulator’s annual expenditure of £11.3 million — and its own costs are also thought to be substantial. As the HFEA is funded by the Department of Health and fees from clinics, the bill will be passed on ultimately to taxpayers and private infertility patients.

The HFEA’s humiliation led senior doctors, MPs and patient groups to question the position of Angela McNab, the chief executive who ordered the raids and applied for the warrants.

Lord Winston, the prominent fertility expert, said: “This is further evidence of the complete incompetence of the HFEA and the need for the workings of this organisation to be radically reviewed. With the loss of this amount of public money, the chief executive . . . will presumably need to consider [her] position.”

Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrat MP, said: “There is a real question as to whether the admitted inadequacy in her evidence when obtaining the warrants and the error of judgment in failing to settle the case until now means that the chief executive’s position is untenable.”

Mark Hamilton, chairman of the British Fertility Society, which represents IVF professionals, asked the Department of Health to conduct a formal inquiry. “The regulator needs to be accountable, and

it needs to maintain the trust and confidence of the sector,” he said. “In this case, this has not happened. It is a matter of grave concern that so much money has been spent on something that has ultimately come to nothing.”

The High Court ruling may also influence an HFEA hearing on July 13 that will consider the original allegations against Mr Taranissi and that could withdraw his licence to treat patients. His lawyers said yesterday that they would be applying for the return of all the documents that were seized illegally.

The HFEA applied to search Mr Taranissi’s clinics in January on the same day that a BBC Panorama documentary alleged that he had treated patients without a licence, a criminal offence. The authority was widely criticised by doctors for appearing to co-operate with the programme.

In March Mr Taranissi was granted permission to seek judicial review of the warrants, which he argued were “unjustified, disproportionate and unlawful”.

The High Court rejected a further claim that the HFEA had acted out of improper purpose.

Mr Taranissi said yesterday: “The events in January of this year were hugely distressing for those of our patients and staff who witnessed them.

“I am obviously very pleased about the outcome, but continue to be dismayed that our regulatory body saw fit to present to the magistrates on the day of the raids information described by a judge at an earlier hearing as seriously defective and highly misleading.

“The cost to the taxpayer of this exercise must be enormous. It grieves me that money, estimated to be in excess of £1 million, which could have been spent on research or genuine issues of patient safety has instead ended up in the pockets of the lawyers.

“The whole episode raises serious public interest questions about the way the HFEA acted in this case.”

The authority insisted the ruling would not affect its licence committee hearing on Mr Taranissi. “We would wish to stress that the HFEA acted in good faith, and on advice,” a spokeswoman said. “Our aim is to protect patient safety and ensure patient choice and we regret any distress that may have been caused to Mr Taranissi’s patients.”

Ms McNab was not available for comment.

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