Amran Hussain, a former Labour Party candidate for North East Hampshire in the 2015 general election, has been jailed for four years for using a forged Oxford degree to secure National Health Service jobs.

Mr Hussain, 40, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday, July 24, 2026, almost a year after he pleaded guilty to three charges of fraud by false representation in August 2025.

Investigations into Mr Hussain’s Oxford degree conducted by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) found he had obtained 13 non-clinical roles within NHS organisations, defrauding the NHS of almost £170,000.

Mr Hussain was exposed during a background check after he landed a new role as Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Urgent Care/Transformation and Operations, at Devon Partnership NHS Trust (DPT) in 2021.

“Further enquiries by the trust revealed that Hussain had submitted false references in support of his applications. One of his referees was fictitious, whilst other references were linked to NHS email accounts which he accessed or controlled,” NHSCFA said in a statement. “In his application, he claimed to have been awarded MSc degrees by the University of Oxford and Birkbeck, University of London, including providing a certificate for the latter. However, both institutions confirmed that he did not complete his respective courses.”

According to NHSCFA, Mr Hussain also stated in his application that he held memberships with several professional bodies, including the Institute of Directors and the Chartered Management Institute. Enquiries found no evidence that he held any professional memberships.

The NHSCFA stated that Mr Hussain “was found to have applied for 2,071 NHS posts, with 13 fraudulent employments resulting in a confirmed financial loss of £168,072.41”.

Ben Harrison, head of operations at the NHS Counter Fraud Authority, said, “This sentencing shows that the NHSCFA will always pursue consequences for those who deliberately deceive NHS organisations through false applications, fabricated qualifications and dishonest references.

“Hussain engaged in a sustained pattern of fraud, repeatedly misrepresenting his experience and qualifications to secure senior roles he was not entitled to hold. Thanks to robust checks by NHS employers and the thorough work of NHSCFA investigators, this wrongdoing was uncovered and brought before the courts.”

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this post incorrectly used a photograph of Imran Hussain MP for Bradford East. Mr Hussain has no connection whatsoever to the individual referred to in this story. The image has been removed and replaced. We apologise to Mr Hussain and our readers for this error.