GP faces heroin charges

A doctor who helped the Government plan its NHS reforms was committed for crown court trial yesterday on 16 charges of illegally obtaining and possessing heroin.

Dr Clive Froggatt, 46, a father of two, did not speak during the half-hour hearing before Glou-cester magistrates.

The prosecution made it clear to magistrates that the charges were "specimens" of the doctor's alleged conduct during an 18-month period from early 1993 until last summer.

Two charges of illegally supplying the drug against Dr Froggatt were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service since his last court appearance - but four new charges of obtaining and possession were added.

Dr Froggatt, of Hatherley road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, now faces eight charges of dishonestly obtaining diamorphine from chemists in the town and eight charges of possessing the drug illegally.

Dr Froggatt, who has been a general practitioner in Cheltenham for 20 years, was granted bail on condition that he does not contact four prosecution witnesses named on a list handed to the court, and that he does not prescribe, possess or purchase Class A drugs.