One thing I always pride myself and this site on, is our ability to accept criticism, allow people to respond to any articles on them, and if necessary even change our original article to better state the facts.

Gary Mannion contacted me with a few suggestions as to how better represent our original article on him.

I decided to show his email to the original author (Julia) and allow her to reply to comments aimed at her article, and I have also responded to some comments directed in general to the site.

By Jon Donnis

Lets start off with his email
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Response by Julia
I do in fact make it clear later in the original article that Mr Mannion does NOT remove anything during the course of his 'psychic surgery':

'In all fairness to Gary, he's dispensed with the old chicken gizzards/surgical waste/bloodsoaked cotton wool malarkey.'

The photo also makes it perfectly clear that Mr Mannion does NOT require patients to undress, does NOT pretend to make an incision, does NOT cause fake blood to flow and does NOT remove anything - he merely imitates the one-hand-concealed by the other gesture of the fraudulent Filipino surgeons.

Although I do not agree that the beginning of the article is misleading I would be quite happy to make the following alteration:

'And this time you don't even have to go to the Phillipines, where self-styled psychic surgeons pretend to make incisions, pull out a handful of palmed chicken guts and claim to have removed organic material. As is well known, all they do is curl up one hand to suggest that it is inside the patient's body, block the bystanders' view of it with the other and pretend to have removed cancerous tumours.'

I am also willing to rephrase the penultimate paragraph thus:

'In all fairness to Gary, he's dispensed with the old chicken gizzards/surgical waste/bloodsoaked cotton wool malarkey. He merely asks his patients to lie down, fully clothed, whilst he performs hand movements which are identical to those used in the Philippines. I can think of no reason why he curls up one hand whilst concealing it with the other other than that it looks as though it has somehow entered the body.

The patient must surely be under the impression that SOMETHING remarkable is happening yet there is no physical evidence to be taken away and analyzed. Gary's technique still has amazing results - even terminal cancer has disappeared after a patient has been treated by him, although he is keen to point out that these miraculous cures didn't take place under controlled conditions.

After consultation with Julia, I have now edited the original article with the above suggestions.

Gary's email continued
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Julia Responds
Fair enough. I'll alter it to:

'No, all you have to do is make an appointment with Harrow-based Gary Mannion, a young man with so many woo qualifications....'

I have now made this adjustment.

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Julia Responds
No, it isn't untrue. You may have stopped posting on UK-Skeptics but your old posts are still there and will remain there.

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Julia Responds
HOW exactly can you be put to the test? We are only interested in your claim to be a psychic surgeon. The fact that you do not remove anything from patients means that there is nothing to examine in a laboratory.

All you have offered so far is Megan's unsupported testimony, which is of no evidential value whatsoever. If you can provide us with a patient who has medical proof that he or she was suffering from a severe illness which disappeared after your treatment - by treatment we mean psychic surgery - we would be prepared to take your claims seriously.

Frankly your posts here and on UK-Skeptics give the impression that you simply don't understand the scientific method at all.

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Julia Responds
I think the best comment on this was made by John Jackson on UK-Skeptics:
'Gary Mannion, for example, is not directly claiming to be able to cure cancer but his rhetoric leaves it in no doubt that that is what he's actually claiming.'

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As this is directed at me I will answer.
I assume you mean Defamation, it is my personaly opinion that anyone who claims to perform psychic surgery, is doing so using magicians techniques. Unless you can prove that you do not use any such techniques, misdirection etc then my opinion stands as just that, an opinion.

But in the season of goodwill, I will remove the comment, if only to show that I am a fair person.

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I would suggest that someone who has advertised themselves in the public eye, doing something that claims to be miraculous has dreams of fame and stardom, the very fact we have heard of you would prove this so.

I would suggest that you would find it near impossible to prove in a court of law that you have not tried to give yourself a higher public profile with the express purpose of further expanding your career.

But again in the season of good will, I will adjust the comment on the original article to better serve my thoughts.

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No that is not defamation in any sense of the word.
It is the opinion of myself and this site that it would be better for people to avoid you as we do not believe what you do is real.

It would also be worth noting that everything science knows about healing would very much back up our opinions of you.

So in this case, no I wont be removing that comment.

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I hope this has been quick enough for you.

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At the time the article was written all ages and dates etc were correct so no reason to change that.

I would like to wish you a Happy Birthday Gary, such a young man, with so much ahead of you in life.

Make the right decision Gary, and earn an honest living.