Promoting awareness of the dangers of antidepressants
On January 4th this year, 14-year-old schoolboy Stephen Mortimer (top) was found hanged in the back garden of his home in Calder Vale, near Garstang in Lancashire. He had previously been diagnosed with autism, and struggled to cope with anxiety, Continue reading Stephen, aged 14
On January 9th this year, at about 4:20 in the afternoon, Mrs Mills was returning home from taking her dogs for a walk when saw two girls lying on the grass together on the field near her home in the Continue reading The Killing of Katie
On June 8th last year, I read a report in the Manchester Evening News, following the inquest of 18-year-old Heather Blower (top). On December 27th 2015, Heather had been found by her twin sister Heidi, hanged in her bedroom. Following Continue reading Losing Heather
An inquest in Reading Town Hall (right) this week recalled the events which culminated in the death of 18-year-old George Cheese (top) on April 9th 2015. That evening, George’s father Keith saw him walk downstairs wearing a rucksack and Continue reading George, aged 18
On December 9th 2015, 15-year-old Pippa (“Pip”) McManus (top) lost her life when she stepped in front of a train at Gatley Station (right) in South Manchester. For three years, Pip had been battling against anorexia. When she was 12, Continue reading Pippa, aged 15
Just a few days after a Chicago jury decided that GSK’s Paroxetine was to blame for the suicide of a 57-year-old lawyer, an article in the Australian edition of the Daily Mail by journalist Belinda Cleary (left) revealed that Continue reading Australian Antidepressants Class Action
History was made in Chicago yesterday when, in a landmark court case, a jury decided that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) failed to warn Stewart Dolin (top) of the risk of suicidal ideation which came with their SSRI antidepressant Paroxetine, marketed as Continue reading Chicago Hope
Propranolol was developed by AstraZeneca in the 1960s, but is now available as a generic drug. It is a type of medication known as a beta-blocker. Its main purpose is to manage high blood pressure and problems with cardiac Continue reading Why Propranolol?
Earlier this week, the Bristol Post reported the inquest of Miriam Macarron’Arroy (right) at Avon Coroner’s Court, beneath the headline: “Spanish woman who fell to her death in Avon Gorge feared she would be deported because of Brexit”. For Continue reading Blame it on Brexit
An inquest in Caernarfon this week heard Joy James pay tribute to her daughter Josie (top), whom she described as “a fun-loving and quirky young woman who loved people”. The youngest of three children, Josie was said to have Continue reading Josie, aged 15
In the past eight days, I have read three reports of inquests in local newspapers from various parts of England. The subject of each of the inquests was a school pupil who had been prescribed antidepressants before suffering a self-inflicted Continue reading Rosemary, Ela and Joe
Yesterday, the UK Judiciary website published a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) Report, submitted by Anna Morris (right), assistant coroner for South Manchester, in which she set out various Matters of Concern after last month’s inquest of 28-year-old Bolton mother Continue reading Rachel: Matters of Concern
On June 14th last year, at around 6:30 pm, 13-year-old schoolgirl Sophie Clark (top) told her father James that she was going for a walk. When she failed to return home by 11pm, her worried father contacted the police to Continue reading Sophie, aged 13
On July 11th last year, 62-year-old Paul Bond (right) attacked his wife with a lump hammer as she slept at their home in the village of Over in Cambridgeshire. He then placed the blood-stained hammer under a pillow on the Continue reading A Risk to the Public
Following on from The Lost Children (2014 & 2015), this is the third in the annual series of posts in which I recall the children of England and Wales who lost their lives after being prescribed antidepressants, and whose inquests Continue reading The Lost Children (2016)
Today saw the publication of the interim Suicide prevention report, published by the UK Government House of Commons Health Committee, and summarised on the Government’s website. Four months ago, I accepted the invitation given by the Committee to submit evidence Continue reading Suicide Prevention: a Conflict of Interest
Bullied, then medicated “He was on antidepressants, but the dose got higher, and each time it did, he seemed to get worse in himself” Below this article are a number of links to more reports about children who have taken Continue reading Brandon, aged 15
(This selection of reviews was originally compiled in November 2016. Since that time, more reviews have been published, and excerpts from some of them have been added to the selection) A Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) is defined as “a locally Continue reading Domestic Homicide Reviews
In August last year, 22-year-old architecture student Juliet Crew (top), described as “outgoing and bubbly”, was found hanged in the house in Taunton where she lived with her family. Three years before her death, Juliet’s stepfather Nigel Parkin (right) Continue reading Abuse upon Abuse
18-year-old Rebecca Haley (top) was in her final year at Gresham’s, a prestigious private boarding school in Norfolk. On the morning of April 30th this year, Rebecca was found hanged in her bedroom at the school. At yesterday’s inquest, Continue reading Rebecca, aged 18
In 2009, Sanjay Nijhawan and his wife Sonita (right) bought a house in an exclusive area of Weybridge, Surrey. They had it demolished, and on the site they had a new house built. In May this year, 46-year-old Sanjay, who Continue reading Sanjay, Sonita and Unanswered Questions
Iain Farrimond (top) is 54 years old. For the past 23 years, he had enjoyed “an impeccable career” with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in Birmingham, latterly as a senior crown prosecutor. Yesterday, at Nottingham Crown Court (right), Iain Continue reading In Defence of the Prosecutor
Glen Parva is a prison in Leicestershire which has been designated as a Young Offenders Institution and Remand Centre. It is a place where young men are held, either on remand or as sentenced prisoners. In 2014, an inspection condemned Continue reading Glen Parva: a concerning institution
John Jones (top) was a 48-year-old married father with two children, who was head of international law at the renowned legal firm Doughty Street Chambers. He was a highly respected QC, with a reputation as a brilliant human rights lawyer. Continue reading The Lawyer and the Nightingale
On the morning of July 11th last year, Tom Gallagher (top) was found hanged near his home at Old Kay’s Park (right) in Tottington, Bury. Tom was a 16-year-old schoolboy who was expected to get outstanding results in the Continue reading Tom, aged 16
Last Friday (July 22 2016), news worldwide was dominated by an event in Munich which ended with 10 people shot dead and 27 injured. While the incident was ongoing, initial reports on live TV suggested that the shooting was being Continue reading A Bus, a Plane, a Truck and a Gun
An inquest, held in Cleethorpes Town Hall (left) this week, heard that 16-year-old Jay Matthews (top), a gifted student from Scartho in Lincolnshire, hanged himself in September last year. Jay’s mother Tracey told the inquest that Jay had been Continue reading Jay, aged 16
Yesterday afternoon, Mrs A and I went to a pub in Earls Court, London. There we met up with Bob Fiddaman who had travelled from Birmingham, and Leonie Fennell and her husband Tony (left) from Wicklow. We were joined Continue reading Launching the Pill
Children’s author William Sutcliffe (left) has recently written a book called Concentr8 (top), which he describes as “a satire on the ADHD epidemic.” Last week, in the Times Educational Supplement, William published a serious article, in which he expressed Continue reading The ADHD Epidemic
It is just two weeks since I wrote about the tragic, avoidable death of a young man from Cambridgeshire. Sadly, I find myself writing about another hugely-talented 18-year-old student whose young life ended suddenly and violently following the prescription of Continue reading The student who had everything before her
Last week, I reported on an incident in South Manchester in which a suicidal man was sent to prison for two years after disrupting motorway traffic. It brought to mind the story of a man who, four days before Continue reading The Man who Wanted to be Shot
Michael Cleator (top) is 37, and lives in Wythenshawe, South Manchester. He is a father to three children, and used to be a hospital porter. When his relationship with his partner broke down three years ago, Michael’s mental health Continue reading A Public Nuisance
At the request of the young man’s father, the names of the young man and those who treated him have been removed in order to protect the identity of the young man in question. In February last year, an academically Continue reading Young Man, aged 18
“While she was at the Priory, Amy was forcibly sedated with medication on at least two occasions.” In November 2012, 14-year-old Amy El-Keria (top) used her football scarf to hang herself in the Priory at Ticehurst (right) in Sussex. Amy had been in the Continue reading Amy, aged 14
Last week, the jury at the inquest of Logan Peters (top) found that “unreasonable, disproportionate and unnecessary” force by police officers contributed to the deterioration in the mental state of the 22-year-old boat-builder who was later found dead. During Continue reading Police Custody: the Last Resort
Last week was Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK, and the theme this year was “Relationships”. Gemma Mitchell (right), a journalist from the Ipswich Star with a special interest in mental health, marked this by reporting Continue reading Out of the Hole: Khanada’s story
Adverse drug reactions and interactions are among the major causes of death. Antidepressants have been reported as causing suicide and homicide and frequently produce akathisia, a state of severe restlessness associated with thoughts of death and violence. In today’s Continue reading Metabolism, Antidepressants and Violence
On December 6th last year, “loving, caring and popular” Reece Burrowes was found hanged in Danson Park (right), Bexleyheath, in South-East London. 17-year-old Reece attended Wilmington Grammar School for Boys, where the head teacher had previously described him as: “a quiet, Continue reading Reece, aged 17
Yesterday I felt privileged to have been invited to a discussion in Parliament promoted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence, in partnership with the Council for Evidence-based Psychiatry. The objective of the meeting was to discuss Continue reading Mental Health Disability: the Antidepressant Connection
On April 15th 1989, 96 spectators died at a football match at Hillsborough, in Sheffield. Last week, an inquest jury decided that, predominantly due to the actions of South Yorkshire Police, every single one of the men, women and children Continue reading Hillsborough’s 97th Victim