David Jones

Teenagers with anorexia could apply for state-backed 'suicide' under 'extremely dubious' laws proposed in Scotland, experts warned last night. Newly published Holyrood legislation would allow NHS patients to request prescriptions for a life-ending cocktail of drugs that induce a coma, shut down the lungs and eventually stop the heart. Supporters of Scotland's Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill insist that the option to choose death over treatment would only be available for the 'terminally' ill - and would give patients more dignity in death. But ethics experts blasted the broad definition of 'terminal' in the laws, which they fear could see those who stand a chance of recovery dying on the NHS. They also say the Bill does not protect against overstretched doctors suggesting that patients consider dying rather than use up precious NHS resources.

During a long career, I have come face to face with Afghan warlords, murderous Albanian criminals, and razor-wielding thugs who rule the favela slums of Rio de Janeiro. Yet they all seem tame after my encounter, this week, with the Monkey Massif: a huge group of long-tailed macaques who have - with an extraordinary mixture of stealth and aggression - formed into ghetto-like 'gangs' and seized control of an entire city centre in Thailand. For many years, the apes that congregate around the ruined Hindu temple in Lopburi, a historic stop-off on the British backpacker trail, two hours north of Bangkok, were a prized tourist attraction. In their honour, in 1989, a local businessman started the annual 'monkey feast', a lavish banquet at which thousands of visitors vie to please the pampered primates with the most exotic treats. As they are said to descend from a legendary 'monkey warrior' with supernatural powers, they are also revered as deities by many Thais and protected by law from even the slightest human interference.

British taxpayers are shelling out an astonishing £292 million a year in disability benefits to people claiming to have ADHD, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Our investigation shows that spending on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) claims has shot up from just £700,000 per year in 2013 - a rise of more than 41,000 per cent. The payments are included in a staggering £5.1 billion of public sector cash given out last year under Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for mental disorders, compared with £34.4 million in 2013, when the scheme was introduced.