A regional daily has won an eight-year fight for a public inquiry into a rogue doctor who harmed dozens of patients.

The Scottish Government has agreed to hold the inquiry following the campaign by the Dundee Courier, which first began when it exposed Sam Eljamel, formerly head of neurosurgery at the city’s Ninewells Hospital.

Courier reporter Graeme Strachan exposed the full extent of the scandal, which left some with life-changing injuries, for the first time in March 2015 but Shona Robison, then Scottish Health Secretary and now Deputy First Minister, rejected calls for a public inquiry after assurances – now known to be false – from health board chiefs.

Political writers Justin Bowie and Alasdair Clark continued to question NHS bosses and politicians over concerns raised by patients and medics, while the newspaper also continued to follow the victims’ stories and exposed Eljamel’s fall from grace as he jetted around the globe on lucrative speaking engagements.

The courier splashed on the campaign’s victory on Saturday

An NHS Tayside investigation into the surgeon was only launched after the news brand revealed he had lied about his medical credentials.

Courier editor David Clegg said: “The news that the Scottish Government will finally hold a public inquiry into the scandal of rogue NHS Tayside doctor Sam Eljamel is a huge victory for his victims and also for the Courier’s journalism.

“I genuinely believe that without the vital work of our team, Eljamel’s victims would still be waiting for the full public inquiry they so desperately want.

“This reinforces the need for regional journalists to continue to hold public institutions to account and to fight for the interests and causes that matter to the communities we serve.”

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf told MSPs in Holyrood that the decision to hold the inquiry was taken after “very careful consideration” of the “extremely disturbing” findings of a due diligence review into NHS Tayside.