A former Israeli army doctor who acted inappropriately while working as a GP in England has been struck off the medical register.

Paul Hirschowitz told one patient she had a “nice ass” and another woman, who was suffering from depression, that “cuddles were better than medicine”.

The 50-year-old was working at a surgery in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, when the incidents took place between 2005 and 2007.

Last week, a General Medical Council Fitness to Practise panel in Manchester found him guilty of “sexualised behaviour and a gross breach of patients’ trust over a prolonged period”.

It said Dr Hirschowitz, who did not attend the hearing or have legal representation, had a “deep-seated flaw in his character” which was “fundamentally incompatible with him being a registered doctor”.

One of the women, identified only as Patient A, told the panel that the GP said she had a “nice ass”, before behaving inappropriately during a consultation.

A third woman, Patient C, said Dr Hirschowitz had become more like a friend than a doctor and often stroked her hands and face. He ended consultations by hugging her and saying it was “better than medicine” and would keep her strong.

The panel said future patients could be at “serious risk” of harm and the only possible action was to erase the doctor from the medical register.

His actions had been “inappropriate, not in the best interests of the patients, not of a standard reasonably expected of a competent GP, and in some aspects were sexually motivated”, it concluded.