LIZ HUNT A Canadian doctor who condemned government advice to 1

LIZ HUNT A Canadian doctor who condemned government advice to 1.5 million women to change their Pill because of blood clot fears, yesterday renewed the attack and backed calls for a new "drug alert" system. Professor Walter Spitzer, an expert on the "third generation" oral contraceptives at the centre of a big health scare in October, said that "much more care needs to be taken" when informing the public about the relative risk of various drugs.Professor Spitzer had accused the Government of "doing very great harm" when it issued a warning based on three unpublished studies which showed that women taking the newest Pills, containing synthetic progestogens, were twice as likely to suffer a blood clot as women on older brands.The risk was still half of that associated with pregnancy, but doctors were besieged with calls from anxious women although few had had any previous warning of the alert and did not know the full reasons for it.Commenting on the formal publication of some of the research in today's issue of the Lancet, Professor Spitzer said: "Much more care needs to be taken so that the practitioners who advise patients. Proinsias de Rossa, leader of the Democratic Left, said that such a meeting could help in "copper-fastening the peace".. A target date of the beginning of February has been set for the opening of all-party talks; Sinn Fein's admission to these is contingent on reaching agreement on decommissioning.Meanwhile, an Irish government minister has called for talks between Mr Adams and John Major. All hearings are to be held in private.Sinn Fein is to give its submission in Dublin.

Its president, Gerry Adams, yesterday repeated his criticism that the British government was being inflexible and unreasonable.The commission's work represents one part of a twin-track approach which includes movement towards full political talks. that we enter the process with open minds and motivated solely by a desire to make a constructive contribution." No decisions would be made, he said, until the commissioners had spoken to all interested parties. They would be meeting representatives of political parties in Belfast, and members of fringe loyalist parties, as well as the Irish government. The solution must be found in the minds of the people in Northern Ireland, but we are going to do our utmost to help them."The third member of the commission, which has the brief to produce a report by mid- January, is the chief of the Canadian defence staff, General John de Chastelain. Although the Government has said it considers itself under no obligation to accept any of their recommendations, the seniority of the three commissioners means that the report will carry considerable weight.Mr Mitchell said: "We want it clearly understood. The same point was made by another commission member, the former Finnish prime minister, Harri Holkeri: "I am by no means [a] political Father Christmas.

DAVID MCKITTRICK Ireland Correspondent The international commission charged with the daunting task of resolving the long-running arms decommissioning dispute yesterday began its work in Belfast by meeting Sir Patrick Mayhew, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.The commission's brief is to attempt to reconcile the positions of the Government and the republican movement - that is to say, to find some way of accommodating two conflicting stances: guns before talks, or talks before guns.Given that many months of Anglo-Irish diplomacy have failed to resolve differences between London and Dublin, there is little confidence that the commission can come up with the type of formula which has so far eluded the governments.The commission chairman, the former US Senator George Mitchell, admitted yesterday that success was "far from assured". Her co- defendant at Plymouth Crown Court, Leona Nicholls, 23, was also jailed for two years.. In fact, Louise Skidmore, 22, of Bristol - national champion in 1988 - was selling pills which contained no controlled drug. Quite frankly, you don't know what you are putting in your body. It is a most foolish and stupid thing to do." Aaron's mother, Lisa, 31, and her boyfriend, Gareth Charles, who were regular drug users but have renounced the habit, backed the coroner's warning. Ms Fairhurst told the inquest that Mr Charles had bought the ecstasy tablets for their use and hidden them in their house in Northwich, Cheshire.She said that on the night of 25 May, she heard a noise from her son's room. When she and her boyfriend went to investigate they found Aaron was "soaking wet but very hot and had all the classic symptoms of an ecstasy overdose or reaction".

He was taken to hospital in Crewe, where he died.Ms Fairhurst and her boyfriend later both admitted possessing cannabis and ecstasy and were placed on probation for six months by Northwich magistrates.tA British international synchronised swimmer was jailed for two years yesterday for offering tablets for sale at a nightclub rave which she believed were ecstasy. A coroner yesterday issued a heartfelt plea to teenagers after the death of a 15-year-old boy who took an overdose of ecstasy tablets hidden by his mother's boyfriend in their home. I make a plea from the heart to all teenagers and anyone else tempted to use ecstasy or any other illicit drugs to bear in mind that you don't know where they were prepared or how well or badly they were manufactured. They are not to be played with lightly and the scourge of the relatively new drug ecstasy is particularly worrying. Recording a verdict that Aaron Fairhurst died through the abuse of a non-dependent drug, John Pollard, the Crewe coroner, said: "All illicit drugs are horrendous. But Brian wants to roll his sleeves up and get involved," one source said.. He has vacated a large office, known as the "Baker wing" after the former chairman, Ken Baker, and moved back into the smaller office traditionally occupied by the party chairmen until the late 1980s."It's next to the stairs, where people can drop in The Baker room was a bit cut off.

He was appointed after a series of propaganda gaffes, as the party tried to seize the initiative from Labour.Dr Mawhinney has also moved his office to be "at the heart of the action" at Central Office. As an agency we do not work in a co-operative with other agencies." Dr Mawhinney is considering following Labour and the US Republican Party in creating a campaign team of advisers.It will take campaigning out of the hands of the new communications director, Charles Lewington, who will concentrate on press and broadcasting. The planned change would have resulted in Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising's working alongside other agencies in future Tory campaigns.Dr Mawhinney said: "We have been very happy with the quality of work. Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising have chosen not to be part of this larger grouping we want to put together but we understand the reasons for their decision."Ms Laing said: "This is a professional decision. The contract for the general election will be worth millions of pounds and he insisted on breaking the exclusive account with the agency.A statement by Dr Mawhinney and Jennifer Laing, Saat-chi's chairman, said the parting was because of the change to "non-exclusivity" for the party's advertising advice. It is likely that his agency will benefit from the decision to end the contract with Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising, which was due to run through the next general election, though the contract could be shared by several agencies.The move marks the last stage in the decisive reorganisation of Central Office by the party chairman, Brian Mawhinney.