Thread 15: To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?

[DisappointedReader]

The Observer's original exposé: The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ...

The 14 Observer items currently available on their online 'The real Salt Path' page: The real Salt Path | The Observer

4 more from The Observer:
‘Hope is extinguished’: CBD patients respond to Salt Path...

The real Salt Path | The Observer (The Slow Newscast)

(Live/online event)

The Observer YouTube Channel: The Observer UK - YouTube

Raynor Winn/Sally Walker's statement: Raynor Winn

Thread One ^www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5368194-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?^

Threads 2-11: Links all in the OP of Thread 12

Thread 12: www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5384574-thread-12-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

Thread 13: www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5386458-thread-13-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

Thread 14: www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5388981-thread-14-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

New posters joining us in the genuine spirit of our civil discourse welcome. It would be helpful to get the background from at least some of the Observer items above before posting. There are currently a number of interesting items on The Observer website and linked to above.

To all - Please be extremely cautious when it comes to naming or implicating people and addresses not in the public eye or with no direct connection to the story, and around the understandable health speculations, especially where details are unclear or still emerging. Remember, even Hollywood rabbits attract the odd flea. Please do not engage with visitors who seem to have their own agenda and seek to derail. Avoid @'ing and quoting them as - from experience - this will only encourage them back to the threads. We have done amazingly well together for fourteen very interesting, very serious and very silly threads so far. I can't be here as much as I'd like so all help with keeping our discussion walking along in our usual reasonable and respectful fashion is very welcome.

#Pinchofsaltpath
#Fudge
#Cider
#OurChloe
#OurSimon
#Correspondents
#Salray
#Timmoth
#MistakesWereMade
#EmbellishedBollox
#JustBollox
#DriveByScolding
#Glumwashing
#ThereBeSharks
#Scones
#NakedHikers
#TurquoiseGString
#BudleighSalterton
#SallyForth
#YesItReallyIsThread15
#Rabbits

Keep to the path. No saltiness. May the fudge be with you.

I’m a retired A&E consultant. You are making far too much much from what you have Googled from the GMC. As you have already been advised by another doctor breaching patient confidentiality is a really big deal. I only did it once in my career when I reported a lorry driver to the DVLA because he had a seizure while driving. I only reported him because I had seen him a year previously again with a seizure while driving & on that occasion told him that he shouldn’t drive & should report himself to the DVLA. He did neither. I also wrote to his GP to let him know. If I had reported him to the DVLA on the first occasion I could have been struck off.
The bar is very high before an overriding obligation to society outweighs a doctor’s obligation to patient confidentiality. Whatever a neurology consultant who has seen TW might think about his symptoms or diagnosis there is no way that breaching patient confidentiality in this case could be justified. You only spontaneously breach confidentiality if lives are in danger.

@PrettyDamnCosmic I agree with what you are saying about patient confidentiality, and I have not worked as a doctor but for a primary care trust, part of my work was carrying out pregnancy testing, I had a duty of care and had to report certain information if I became aware, including reporting certain things to the police, they were not all things that endangered life.

It is a long time since I was involved in this work, I have looked today and if I was in that job now I would be bound by the same protocols. I am just saying that if this consultant knows that the consultation did not happen in 2013 and they did not give a diagnosis of CBD in 2013, they will know that their diagnosis has been miss used for profit, they have allowed Salray to make that diagnosis public.

Am I not allowed to question if this is ethical? given that whoever the consultant is knows who they are, should they not be going to their supervisor and asking what they should do? at the moment with the medical letters published (with apparently the permission of the consultant involved) it looks like the consultant or unit are happy to support this miss representation.

How is discussion about a patient with your supervisor breaking confidentiality, I'm sure consultants have situations where they have to take advice, I'm not trying to get anyone into trouble, it's not the consultant who is at fault if a patient is exploiting a diagnosis for financial gain or the harm of others, but they do have a duty to take advice and in certain circumstances report such things.

What did you do about your lorry driver, I agree going straight to the DVLA is breaking patient confidentiality, you probably should have taken it to your supervisor to protect yourself, but from what I am reading you still have a duty to do something about it. I'm going caravanning later with no communication so I won't be bothering anyone and I actually don't think I am making too much of it to ask these questions, their must be other people who would like to know :)

That’s it, in a nutshell.

Hmm very interesting point. Off the top of my head maybe it had a specific legal read for that purpose (sailing just on the safe side of snake oil) and this was by a medico-legal (or whatever) specialist - but no general edit for style, coherence, plausibility or veracity?

But this is a guess and to some extent I have to disclose that my observations are second hand via the views of the many wise voices on these threads - i have not read the actual books (and i don't think i would have made it through even before they fell to pieces as "memoir". (I am a serial dnf-er 😬)

Thank you 🩷 - I think I must be a reasonable writer at least (within my niche-is speciality anyway) as my clients generally seem complementary - they just won't pay extra 😅

Just to add that of course a "medico-legal" read if it happened would have been done for commercial reasons (don't want ro have to pulp the book!) rather than for stylistic or integrity - type reasons .

Thanks - I like your expression: sailing just on the safe side of snake oil
It has a nice ring to it.

I'm not feeling respect for agent, editor or publisher.

If anyone wants to report to the GMC or TradingStandards, they can do so. Those bodies will follow their own due processes to ascertain whether action should be taken.
You aren't likely, as a member of the public, to be told what next steps were taken anyway.

The coughing major Charles Ingram is the brother of Hannah Ingram-Moore's husband Colin. The expression "bad apples" comes to mind!

They are still advertising the book as an unllinchingly honest, true story.

Wow - who knew.

Hold fire! 😅Just checking again on other pages, and some are saying not true! So, maybe we shouldn't believe what we read on the interweb. "Mistake were made".... would have been a good story though 😎

It would! I trusted the correspondent concerned so skipped a fact check ;)

It seems to me that PRH has not changed their marketing tagline of " unflinchingly honest" because they clearly think there's no case to answer. They have not simply forgotten to change it. ( I don't agree with them incidentally).

Yes, but I think you could argue it was fine to advertise it as such if they didn’t know about the embezzlement.

That’s not true it was an internet lie

Am I the only one doubting that the Walkers have as much money as people seem to think? I know the figure of 2m sales is being bandied about, and whatever they got for the film sales rights and overseas rights, but it really doesn't bring in as much money as people seem to think. I mean, yes, they will have a decent amount, but they aren't multi millionaires, and I really don't think they have the financial nous to have invested (they don't seem to have bought property) or put the money away in a long term account earning good interest. They seem to want to spend it when they have it, maybe under the misapprehension that the royalties will keep rolling in.

If someone brings out a book that is similar to, but better than, TSP, they might find that this takes their market and they are left behind. So, for their sakes, I'd hope they've got money put safely away for their future.

I've sent you a PM @Freshsocks

Well, I do have a book idea that could potentially fill the gap. It's about a journey wandering through the wilds of Scotland from distillery to distillery in search of hope and hangovers following a public scandal involving a dead sheep, a stolen box of fudge and a misunderstanding over a cardboard cutout of Simon Armitage. It's called The Malt Path, "unflinchingly dishonest".

Good afternoon all and I hope you are well today. It looks like the promiscuous posts have been multiplying again and I've got some catching up to do. While the OP's away, the rabbits will play...

As SW's writing is the only thing she is half good at (irrespective of whether TSP is based on a pack of lies or not) in her position I'd be very tempted to go down the mea culpa route. I'm not saying it would work, but what has she got to lose?

She's got 81.4k IG followers and a host of faithful fans many of whom will be prepared to forgive and forget past misdemeanours.

Jeffrey Archer is still churning out bestsellers years after being publicly disgraced despite spending time behind bars for perjury and perverting the course of justice!

@SimoArmo Brilliant.

Don't think she will be advised to do this. It will only attract attention from readers who know little or nothing about the allegations. She has already been 'forgiven' by most of her readers who have declared their support with their " it's still a good story" etc statements. We are by far in the minority i imagine.

Betty91 · 10/07/2025 12:27

I think your opinion on all this depends on whether you've had the misfortune to cross paths (no pun intended) with these casual and prolific liars. I have, so can only see this story through that lens. She follows the exact MO of people I know who have been found out - lies a bit more, apologises in a way that makes it feel cruel to hold her accountable, cries, minimises, gets a bit righteous, deflects & plays victim. The one thing I have learnt from people like this is they will sweep it all under the rug like nothing happened - but they never learn or take responsibility & will lie about anything & everything. I feel sorry for the people out of pocket because of her - less sorry for the publishers & everyone who made money - but most sorry for the people who were given false hope about their unwell loved ones.

I think they will have had some advice. They certainly managed to set up the Four Hares company with their two adult children so there seems to be collaboration and some knowledge there. Their offspring are very much in adult territory so there are four of them to work things out and potentially some professional advice.

Multi-millionaires probably not. With income from four multinational books, the film, personal appearances including apparently charged for charity events, the gigs, merchandise and so on, together with the ability to live where they are doing, I don't think they are throwing themselves onto the ground chasing dropped coins anymore.