 A resident of Neuk Crescent, Houston, outside Glasgow, Bilal Abdullah was born on 17 September 1980 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, where his father, also a doctor, worked.He qualified in Baghdad in 2004 and first registered as a doctor in the UK in 2006.He was given limited registration by the General Medical Council (GMC) from 5 August 2006 to 11 August 2007.