A DUTCH dentist hailed as the saviour of a town starved of National Health Service dentistry was exposed as a criminal yesterday. Aria van Drie was convicted in the Netherlands last May for inciting the kidnap of a Belgian colleague who was thrown down the stairs of her flat.

The Dutch company Groep MediMatch Tandartsen, which employs her, admitted that it knew of the conviction. The General Dental Council and Scarborough health chiefs have begun an inquiry.

Mrs van Drie’s appointment to a clinic in the North Yorkshire seaside resort last week was surrounded by a blaze of publicity. Around 3,000 would-be patients queued around the block to register with her, highlighting the shortage of NHS dentists.

She was taken to court in The Hague in June 2001 after an alleged dispute over the sale of her surgery in the nearby town of Wassenaar. She was given 240 hours of community service and a six-month suspended prison sentence.

She denied inciting two men to storm the surgery, abduct the Belgian dentist and assault him for allegedly failing to pay an outstanding sum. Together with a dental hygienist, Mrs van Drie, 60, was said to have pushed the dentist down the stairs of a flat above the surgery where she still lived and to have wished the assailants “good luck” as they bundled him into a car. Mrs van Drie says she is innocent and will appeal in April. Under Dutch law, a person is not deemed guilty until a higher court has ruled on their appeal.

Another dentist at the practice in New Queen Street, Scarborough, said last night that Mrs van Drie was not available for comment. She is continuing to work in a super- visory role.

During her trial, it emerged that Mrs van Drie had sold up because she was suffering from a medical condition, believed to be rheumatism, but she is now fit to work.

Roland de Haas, a spokesman for Groep MediMatch Tandartsen, said: “We are aware of the fact that a dispute with the buying party of her former practice led to a provisional conviction.” He said he was confident it would be overturned on appeal but declined to say what would happen if it was not.

Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Primary Care Trust, which commissioned Medimatch to set up the practice, said it had been unaware of the conviction. Colin Barnes, the trust chairman, said: “We are sufficiently concerned about these allegations and are investigating this.” “Prior to her move to Scarborough, Dr van Drie satisfied all the required checks,” he said. “However we regard all concerns raised about local healthcare professionals very seriously. Of the concerns raised, only one remains outstanding. We are seeking legal advice on this matter.”

Under regulations brought in on January 1, dentists in England must declare any criminal convictions. Mrs van Drie escaped that requirement by three months.

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