Seven doctors accused of breaking heroin rules

Seven doctors at a leading private clinic face disciplinary action over claims they illegally prescribed a heroin substitute to addicts.

The medical staff from London's world-famous Stapleford Centre have been accused of breaking strict rules on prescribing methadone, the drug given to wean addicts off the class-A substance.

They include founder Dr Colin Brewer, regarded as one of the world's foremost experts on dealing with heroin addiction, as well as other senior members of staff.

The Stapleford Centre, based in Victoria, is accused of illegally giving "maintenance" doses of methadone to heroin addicts - amounts equal to the heroin they would have injected. Government policy is for doctors to give rapidly diminishing doses to get addicts quickly off heroin.

The GMC proceedings come as public concern over heroin mounts, and when graphic pictures of the body of heroin addict Rachel Whitear are being used to educate school pupils on its dangers.

Her remains are to be exhumed after a police investigation into allegations that someone else may have been involved in her death.

The seven Stapleford Centre doctors will appear before the General Medical Council next week after a long Home Office investigation. If found guilty of the charges they could be struck off.

They include four of Dr Brewer's full-time staf f , his former deputy director and another former member of staff.

But the case reveals a fault-line in medical thinking over the use of the substance.

Labour MP Paul Flynn, vicechairman of the all-party drugs misuse group, criticised the move. He said: "This is so crass. These are people who would be knighted if there was a decent honours system for their courage in prescribing in a way which is of enormous benefit to the drug users."

Bill Nelles, a member of a recent Government review of heroin policy and executive director of the Methadone Alliance, called it a "very negative development".

He said: "We are very worried about the patients who may end up with no care if these doctors are not allowed to prescribe."

Dr Brewer has been acclaimed for his drugs work and has pioneeredimplants which lead to painless heroin "detox".

His clinic has become renowned for its work in encouraging drug addicts to come off heroin, and is only thought to have given " maintenance" doses to a tiny number of hard cases.

The class-A drugs - powerful synthetic psychedelics similar to LSD - include 2C-1, 4-HO-DiPT and 5-Meo-DMT and are being made in "commercial labs", often in the US, which openly sell their products on the internet. Britain has outlawed all of these drugs but in the US the bulk of the so-called "research chemicals" are legal to manufacture, sell, possess and consume.

Most sites offer between five and 15 different drugs, with prices ranging from £50 to £185 a gram, excluding delivery.