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A North-South divide over the prescription of high dose opioids and other painkillers has been revealed by Sky News research.

The findings are being described as a “time bomb” of potential addiction problems.

In the North East, the amounts prescribed are three times more per head than in London, according to data collated from Open Prescribing.

For example, a practice in Durham with 18,000 patients prescribes over 1.2 million milligrams of opioids a month, (the rough equivalent of 42,000 strong tablets).

An average UK practice of the same size would prescribe about 480,000 milligrams per month (about 16,000 strong tablets).

The region’s lead pharmacist told Sky News: “We’ve all got to re-educate ourselves” about the potential harms of over-prescription.

Opioids are also prescribed to people in the most deprived parts of the country almost twice as much as those in the most well-off areas.

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Social workers and other professionals say that GPs are creating the clientele for a growing black market in prescription drugs, and there is a lack of services to help people with their addictions.

While opioid use has fallen slightly in recent years – prescriptions of other painkillers such as pregabalin are on the increase.

‘I don’t know how I’m alive’

Justine Pic: Jason Farrell
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Justine Grant beat an additcion to heroin and was clean for 12 years, but says the drug her doctor later prescribed for pain relief was an even greater challenge

Patients have told Sky News that they struggled to beat their addiction and often turned to illegal dealers to top up their medication.

Justine Grant, from Sacriston, near Durham beat an addiction to heroin and was clean for 12 years, but says the drug her doctor later prescribed for pain relief was an even greater challenge.

She said, “I said I need something like ibuprofen but maybe a bit stronger, and that’s when they prescribed us the pregabalin. It’s very, very addictive. More addictive than anything I’ve taken in my lifetime.”

“I immediately got addicted to one of those a day, and then two and then three and then four. Up until I was taking ten a day. I don’t know how I’m alive.”

Justine was topping up her prescriptions using drug dealers, taking 3,000 mg of the drug a day, costing her £25.

What is pregabalin?

Pregabalin works on nerve pain by affecting messages travelling through the brain and down the spine.

The drugs information site Frank says it produces feelings of euphoria, relaxation and calmness; and can heighten the effects of other drugs.

Pregabalin and opioids taken together can cause people to stop breathing.

The NHS recommends it is not stopped suddenly as withdrawal could cause anxiety, insomnia, nausea, pain and sweating.

Officials who draw up prescribing guidelines at NICE have made it a class C drug and warn GPs to look out for signs of dependency and abuse.

She added: “Everybody’s getting them. The doctors think they’re the new wonder drug and they can’t see the problems they’re causing.”

Advice published by NHS England eight years ago warns doctors that this this type of drug “can lead to dependence and may be misused or diverted”.

It also says that the drug is used as a “commodity for trade” in prisons.

‘What will my little girl do if I don’t wake up?’

Pic: Jason Farrell
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When Cheryl Parker was addicted to codeine she was being prescribed 100 tablets every three days, and was in constant fear of overdose

Cheryl Parker, also from the Durham area, became addicted to codeine after complications giving birth. Soon she was being prescribed 100 tablets every three days. She was in constant fear of overdose, but was sick if she tried to withdraw.

She said: “God I used to be ill. Spewing, couldn’t walk, constantly on the toilet, mentally just totally drained. I used to have an inhaler down the side of my bed every night. I used to just be panicking. What would I do if I don’t wake up? My little girl’s there, what’s she going to do?'”

Justine and Cheryl are both housed by Positive Directions, which helps accommodate vulnerable people.

Beverly Crooks, one of its support workers, says there’s little help available for those with mental health and addiction problems.

She said: “For the last year there’s been a lot of suicides through drugs and people not getting help. People really depressed, can’t get any help from anywhere, getting told there’s no one that can come out and see them because there’s not enough staff.”

The director of Positive Directions, Gary Crooks, told Sky News: “It’s an absolutely huge problem and a time bomb that’s been simmering under the surface for quite some time now.”

“Being on the frontline, what we’re encountering is an explosion in prescribed drugs from the GPs, and certainly on the black market.

“A lot of people have been accessing drugs from the dark web, and buying prescription drugs that way, at a real big discount, and selling them on the streets.

“They are extremely addictive and quite often the problem is they’re prescribed by medical professionals and so the people who are taking the prescriptions don’t realise how addictive these substances are.”

‘Primary care is overwhelmed’

Ewan Maule, lead pharmacist for the North East and North Cumbria, says there is a link between poverty, especially in declining industrial regions such as the North East, and chronic pain and this in turn leads to greater use of opioids in certain regions.

However, he says that medical understanding about the risk of opioids has evolved and NHS professionals need to take note.

He said: “The conversation is changing and we are starting to talk about non-drug treatments, non-medicines for treatment of chronic pain, because we know the harm that can be done by opioids certainly long-term, outweighs the benefits.

“We all need to re-educate ourselves. People like me, who were educated 20 years ago, need to change the way we think about things.”

Medical academics in the region agree and a programme is being launched in the North East to use GPs’ databases to contact people on high dose opioids offering help.

Professor Julia Newton, from the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We need to take notice that we’re an outlier in this area and begin to look at why that might be.

“Primary care is overwhelmed at the moment, time is very precious in short GP consultations. And I think sometimes it might just be easier when a patient wants a tablet, for a GP to prescribe or to continue to prescribe a medication.”

Offered heroin at a rehab centre

While getting hooked is easy, finding help to get off is a struggle. Addicts told us that the main rehab centre in Durham, called County Durham Substance Misuse Service – Centre for Change, often has dealers outside and sometimes inside.

One recovering addict said it was a great place to “go for a hit” rather than rehab.

When Sky News paid a visit, a social worker with our team was offered heroin by a client coming out of the premises.

Humankind, which runs the centre, said that it takes any reports of drug use and dealing within its centres “extremely seriously” and it has “strong, well-communicated policies in place prohibiting these acts”.

It added: “Anyone found to be dealing, sharing or using drugs on a Humankind site will be challenged and reported to the police, and any claims of drug dealing are investigated thoroughly.”

When it comes to the government’s levelling-up agenda, clearly this is another area that needs attention. Communities that have seen industrial decline and rising poverty have also added addiction to their list of problems.

Former addict Justine says: “How are they going to break the cycle? There’s no jobs, no help, no future, no dreams.”

And it seems medication is no substitute for investment, jobs and services.

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Starmer says UK will ‘set out a plan’ to raise defence spending to 2.5%

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Starmer says UK will 'set out a plan' to raise defence spending to 2.5%

The UK will “set out a plan” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.

Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.

There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and  Keir Starmer, during a trilateral meeting in 10 Downing Street.
Pic: PA
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Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sir Keir Starmer and NATO boss Mark Rutte in October. Pic: PA

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A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.

They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.

“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.

“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”

The defence review will also be published in the spring.

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While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.

They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.

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Storm Bert: Snow, rain and wind as weather warnings cover most of UK

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Storm Bert: Snow, rain and wind as weather warnings cover most of UK

Snow, rain and strong winds are expected to disrupt travel plans and potentially cause flooding as Storm Bert hits the UK.

Several weather warnings are in place, while 16 flood alerts have been issued – warning flooding is possible – in England and Scotland.

Most of the UK is affected by yellow warnings for either wind, rain or snow, with a slightly more severe amber warning covering parts of northern England and central Scotland.

Two areas of Ireland have been issued a rare red warning for heavy rain until 10am.

Check out the forecast in your area

London, East Anglia, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Hull and swathes of the Midlands are the only parts with no current warnings in place.

The warnings in place. Pic: Met Office
Image:
The warnings in place. Pic: Met Office

Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern described a “multiple hazard event” going into Saturday morning.

“We’ll see two to four hours of heavy snow across parts of northern England and Scotland during Saturday morning,” he said.

“This snow will accumulate thick and fast, with five to 10cm at lower levels and as much as 20 to 40cm over hills accompanied by strong winds.

“You can expect blizzards over hills across northern England and Scotland, atrocious conditions for travelling and going over the hills and also the risk of power interruptions because of snow build up on power lines.

“So all in all, a multiple hazard event as we go into Saturday morning.”

Temperatures will rise quickly as the storm brings milder air from the Atlantic, he said, resulting in a “rapid thaw” by the afternoon.

Where the warnings are and when

South coast – A yellow warning for wind is in place for the entire south coast of England from 3pm until 9pm, with a slight chance of damage to buildings and power cuts.

Southwest – From 6am, a yellow warning for rain is in place in the southwest of England, from Cornwall up to Oxford and stretching to Portsmouth. This is in place until 11.45pm.

Wales – Heavy rain is likely to cause some travel disruption, particularly in South Wales, with a yellow warning across the country lasting 24 hours from 6am.

Northern Ireland – A yellow warning for rain and snow kicked in at midnight and lasts until 11am, likely affecting journey times on roads and rails.

Midlands, north and Scotland – A yellow warning for rain and snow reaching from Stoke and Nottingham up to all of Scotland started at 4am and stays in place until 9am. Manchester, Liverpool and Hull are not affected.

Southern Scotland – An amber warning for snow starts at 7am and ends at midday, covering the Pennines, Yorkshire Dales and some southern parts of Scotland.

Central Scotland – Parts of central Scotland can expect some heavy snowfall, with an amber warning for snow and ice from 7am until 5pm over Aberfeldy and surrounding areas, northwest of Perth and Dundee.

East and west coasts – From 5am until 7pm, a yellow warning for wind covers the entire eastern coasts of Scotland and northern England, down to Grimsby.

The same warning covers much of the western coastline from Wales up to northern Scotland, though Manchester and Liverpool are not included.

What the weather warnings mean

• Yellow – people are advised to check the details of the forecast and consider extra steps to minimise any impact, while disruption is likely, particularly for travel;
• Amber – disruption is more likely and more widespread and people are advised to change plans impacted by weather;
• Red – reserved for very dangerous weather that can pose a danger to life and cause substantial travel disruption.

Travel disruption

While airports are not expecting disruption, rail companies have announced service changes over the weekend.

In Scotland, there will be speed restrictions on the West Highland Line, Highland Mainline, Stranraer Line, Glasgow South Western Line, Far North Line, and West Coast Mainline between Carstairs and the border.

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ScotRail has also withdrawn services from Inverness to Elgin, Aberdeen to Inverurie, and Glasgow Queen Street to Oban.

The TransPennine Express, meanwhile, “strongly” urged customers not to travel north of Carlisle on Saturday and Avanti West Coast advised against travel north of Preston.

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Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

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Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

Two people detained during a security incident at Gatwick Airport have been allowed to continue their journeys after a suspect package saw a “large part” of the South Terminal evacuated.

The terminal was closed for hours after the discovery of a “suspected prohibited item” in a passenger’s luggage sparked an emergency response. It reopened at around 3.45pm.

Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team “made the package safe” before handing the airport back to its operator, Sussex Police said.

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Passengers at Gatwick Airport after flights were cancelled. Pic: PA
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Passengers at Gatwick Airport after flights were cancelled. Pic: PA

Their statement continued: “Two people who were detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys.

“There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel.”

The force also thanked the public and airport staff for their patience while the incident was ongoing.

Earlier the airport, which is the UK’s second busiest, said the terminal was evacuated after a “security incident”.

“The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” it later said in a statement on Friday afternoon.

“The South Terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”

Gatwick said some flights were cancelled while others were delayed.

It said passengers should contact their airlines for any updates on flights.

Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of travellers heading away from the terminal building.

“Arrived at London Gatwick for routine connection. Got through customs to find out they’re evacuating the entire airport,” one passenger said.

“Even people through security are being taken outside. Trains shut down,” another passenger added, who said “thousands” of people were forced to leave.

Another passenger said people near the gates were being told to stay there and not go back to the departure lounge.

People outside the airport were handed blankets and water, passengers told Sky News.

The airport said its North Terminal was still operating normally.

Gatwick Express said its trains did not call at Gatwick Airport during the police response, but the airport said trains would start calling there again once the terminal was fully reopened.

More than 600 flights were due to take off or land at Gatwick on Friday, amounting to more than 121,000 passenger seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

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