Motorists who fail drug tests able to drive for up to six months due to backlog in processing results
Motorists who fail roadside drug tests are being allowed to continue to drive for up to six months because of a backlog in testing confirmatory blood samples.
Some of those drivers have gone on to kill behind the wheel while their results are pending.
The backlog and delay have been described as “unacceptable” by the families of some of those who have died in accidents caused by drug-drivers on bail.
Mother-of-two Jane Hickson died at a junction just metres from her home in Chester when her car was hit by a motorist who had gone through a red light.
Jane Hickson died after being hit by a motorist who was on bail for drug-driving
It was later revealed that the driver Paul Wright had been on bail for drug-driving at that time, having been arrested six months earlier after testing positive at the roadside.
Police were still waiting for the blood test results at the time of the accident in which Ms Hickson died.
“The fact is that those people are out there, driving under the influence of drugs as we’re sat here now. People are at risk, and I don’t think that’s acceptable,” her husband John told Sky News.
“It’s hard to move on from something that was such a senseless way for Jane to die. I think it’s also completely avoidable. I think, as a society, we have to do something about it. They need to be off the roads as soon as possible.”
Paul Wright. Pic: Cheshire Constabulary
Like many, Mr Hickson believes the system for dealing with drug-drivers has not kept pace with the way drink-drivers are caught. They are generally banned within days as the result of confirmatory breath tests at police stations.
This comes at a time when many police forces across the UK report they now are regularly arresting more people for drug-driving than drink-driving.
Experts point to the system used in France and Australia which tests saliva rather than blood and provides a confirmatory, evidential sample within days.
Ean Lewin, the founder of D.tec International, which provides roadside drug tests to police forces across the country, told Sky News: “Saliva is a perfectly acceptable solution, and it can be processed in the laboratory much quicker.
“If we could have an evidential confirmation within a week, we could maybe get them in court the week after, which is the same timescale as is acceptable at the moment for alcohol.”
In January, the minister for the future of roads, Lilian Greenwood, told the Commons she had heard concerns about the issue first-hand while on patrol with police.
Any action now would come too late for the family of Tim Burgess. He was killed in a collision in July which also left his partner with life-changing injuries.
The other driver, Joshua Eldred, was two-and-a-half times the cocaine limit and 16 times over the limit for a compound which shows recent cocaine usage.
Joshua Eldred. Pic: Cheshire Constabulary
Eldred had been in another crash ten days earlier but had been bailed pending a blood test, meaning he was free to drive. That test later confirmed he’d been taking cocaine.
Mr Burgess’s sister Linzi Stewart has launched a campaign calling for a change in the law.
“I think people just think they can take drugs and get behind the wheel and get away with it because there isn’t an effective system in prosecuting and charging them. There isn’t enough deterrent.
“Road deaths have almost become normalised and there’s so much complacency in the UK around road deaths.”
The National Police Chiefs’ Council declined our request for an interview. Last year it called for new powers to allow officers to instantly disqualify drink or drug-drivers at the side of the road.
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Linzi Stewart is campaigning for a law change
On the backlog of blood tests for drug-drivers, it said: “The NPCC has been aware in the past of difficulties in the processing of drug-drive blood samples, with backlogs and delays up to six months in some cases.
“However, currently the position is much different with the majority of cases now being processed within six months.”
Months-long delays though, families say, are putting lives at risk.
“I don’t feel angry with the offender because I feel that, if he had been dealt with ten days previously, he hopefully would have learned his lesson,” said Ms Stewart.
“His family’s life has been destroyed, his life’s destroyed, our lives are destroyed. If it had been dealt with at the time, then we wouldn’t be where we are now.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We take road safety extremely seriously, and there are already strict penalties in place for those who are caught drug driving.
“Drug testing is a complex forensic process that must meet strict legal and scientific standards. We are working closely with policing partners to improve efficiency while ensuring the integrity of results that support prosecutions.
“Our roads are among the safest in the world, but we are committed to improving road safety and reducing the number of those killed and injured on our roads.”
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
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Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
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