A NURSE who served time for assault and then lied about his criminal convictions has been kicked out of the profession.

Michael Sonny-Ijoma, aged 47, from Eltham, applied for a full-time job at the Greenwich Primary Care Trust, but failed to disclose his criminal past and lied about his education.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) heard he was given a three-year prison sentence for assault, resisting arrest, theft and forgery in 1991.

However, on the application form, he had said he had no convictions.

Sonny-Ijoma was taken on as a community staff nurse with the trust in April 2005, but resigned after a Criminal Records Bureau check revealed the truth.

The panel heard a previous check on Sonny-Ijoma had come back clean, so he thought he could lie to his next employers.

Speaking for the NMC at the hearing on October 24, Claire Atogdina said: "Following a job interview, he was successful and was offered the position subject to a number of requirements, including a health check and a Criminal Records Bureau check.

"He was given a start date and his induction period began in May 2005.

"But in the latter half of the month, the trust received correspondence from the CRB he did have criminal convictions and these dated back to 1983."

In 1991 at Lewes Crown Court, Sonny-Ijoma was found guilty of assault with intent to resist arrest, five counts of theft and two counts of forgery.

He has an earlier conviction for stealing from his employers and lied about his education history on the application form submitted to the Greenwich Primary Care Trust.

Sonny-Ijoma claimed to have been studying at the University of East London between 1991 and 1993, but was in fact serving a prison sentence.

The NMC found Mr Sonny-Ijoma guilty of misconduct in his absence and he was struck off.

Committee chairman Paul Hindley said: "He failed to disclose a number of serious convictions."