hundreds of thousands of people in england are hooked. one in four adults are prescribed painkillers, sleeping tablets or anti—depressants. i feel like if i'd turned to heroin or drink to help me with those problems... ..there would've been a lot more help for me to come off those things. public health england calls for a national helpline for people struggling with addiction to prescription drugs. also tonight. the first day of the suspension of parliament — borisjohnson tells schoolchildren he is working for a brexit deal, jeremy corbyn says labour won't commit to leave or remain in an election. petrol bombs and missiles are thrown at police in londonderry after a bomb is found in a car. and president trump fires his

national security advisor, his third in three years, john bolton. and coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, we'll be live in southampton ahead of tonight's euro qualifier bewteen england and kosovo. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. hundreds of thousands of people in england are getting hooked on prescription drugs, according to a new report — with half of all users taking them for a year or more. the study by public health england shows that one in four adults use strong painkillers, antidepressants or sleeping tablets. opioids, the strongest

type of painkillers, were prescribed to over 5.5 million adults outside hospital in 2017—18. and more than half a million people in england received opioid prescriptions for three years or more. health officials say long—term use shows too many people are becoming dependent. our health editor hugh pym has been to meet some of those affected by addiction. i was gripped by these painkillers. i got into a routine where i didn't feel like i could wake up without them or function without them. i couldn't go to work... katie became addicted to opioid painkillers when she was 16. now a decade on she is using social media to tell her story. she was put on the painkillers after an operation and found it impossible to do without them. how's things today? good. do you want to tell me? what's good, what's happening for you? cravings are getting less and less. she eventually found the help she needed from an addiction

counselling service, the bridge project in bradford. i was taking 2a co—codamol a day. and i'd wait till my husband had fallen asleep and crawl over him in bed and get a packet out, or hide some down the side of the bed to take some. i'd go out with my mum for a coffee and i'd get into the toilet and take three co—codamol, go back to the table half an hour later and say i need to take my tablets. katie's was an extreme case. she wants others to know that they can, like her, and with help, beat the addiction. the authors of the latest reports say the prescription drugs they have looked at are vital for many patients but the number of long—term users is worrying. half of the people taking these drugs have been prescribed those in the last year, have had a prescription for more than a year, and for the vast majority of these medicines, using them for that length of time is very unlikely to be supported by clinical guidance.

for some, longer term use of antidepressants is necessary, but libby from west yorkshire feels that by being left on the drugs for 20 years, she has been let down by the health system. i feel like if i had turned to heroin or drink to help me with those problems, there would have been a lot more help for me to come off those things than there has been help for me to come off prescription drugs, and that is my frustration. groups of gps like this one have been meeting to discuss alternatives, including referring patients to counselling and activities in their local communities. but doctors leaders say they need more backing to help find solutions. we need to spend longer with our patients, and that means having more resources and more gps. we need more therapists that we can refer our patients onto and we need greater access to social prescribing opportunities so patients can get the tailor—made help and care in the community that they need and deserve.

health leaders say it is nothing like on the same scale as the us opioid addiction crisis, but it is time to get on top of the issue before we see the problems experienced elsewhere. hugh pym, bbc news. parliament isn't sitting today — suspended for five weeks after borisjohnson‘s second attempt to call a snap general election late last night was blocked by mps. parliament was prorogued — to use the official term — just before two o'clock this morning amid chaotic scenes. opposition mps held protests, accusing the prime minister of "silencing" democracy. mrjohnson has chaired a meeting of the cabinet today to discuss his options. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports. the call made as it always has been. back seats and lace worn in the

usual way. design back seats and lace worn in the usualway. design the presence back seats and lace worn in the usual way. design the presence of this honourable house. but then nothing, genuinely nothing ever quite like this. shouting. opposition mps theory that the prime minister has closed parliament early. shouting know, brandishing placards, even scuffling to try to keep the speaker in his chair. a symbol of their desire to keep parliament open in these vital weeks. this is not however a warm or prorogation, it is not standard and it represents an active executive fiat —— and normal prorogation. an active executive fiat! shame on you, opposition mps shout at conservatives. the commons is not so much divided, it's broken into jagged much divided, it's broken into jagged bits. after those moments of

pandemonium at 1:30am, song broke out on the green benches. they sing. the socialist anthem the red flag. and then not to be outdone a welsh chorus. just what were mps protesting in parliament trying to prove 7 protesting in parliament trying to prove? this was the shutdown of democracy. parliament descended into chaos, don't you worry about the impression... there was a rowdy debate that went on beforehand, passionate views expressed on all sides. the government is treating democracy with contempt though i did nothing except latin and greek for 20 years and now i'm running the country. not exactly. boris johnson might be in charge in theory and spent the day talking about his plans for schools, but even if he's trying to pretend it is happening, the commons didn't give him the

election he wants. he can give us some information about william duke of normandy? he conquered england. yes why did he think he should, how did he have a claim to the throne of england? do you want someone to help you? he's lost control of parliament and he can't brush that of. anybody who says it's anti—democratic, what a load of nonsense. we were very, very clear that if people wanted a democratic moment, if they wanted an election, we offered it to the labour opposition and mysteriously they decided not to go for it. parliament almost felt in shock this morning about what happened in the early hours. the idea that both sides could have respect for the other almost stripped away. the doors are closed now, mps away for weeks with an uncertain return. the

prime minister determined to stick to his brexit deadline of halloween whatever convention he has to flout. opponents raged against him who will push the boundaries right back. that squeezes the prime minister is options, leaving more risky controversy. from the dup, the tories northern irish allies to cabinet ministers, there is a whiff of hype about the prospect of a deal with the eu. yet for the prime minister is adviser dominic cummings who revels in controversy, and numberio, who revels in controversy, and number 10, its boris johnson's brexit and sooner or it might be bust. will britain leave the eu on time? sure. so what happens now following last night's suspension of parliament? well over the next few weeks mps and activists will be attending the party conferences. mps will return for the queen's speech on october 14th when the government lays out its key plans.

an eu summit will be held on the 17th of october, and two weeks later on october 31st the uk is due to leave the eu. so, what options does the prime minister have? well if he can get a new deal with the eu — which is passed by mps — then the uk could still leave by october 31st. if not, and if mps still won't support leaving without a deal, the prime minister is now legally obliged to ask for an extension — he's said he'd "rather be dead in a ditch". so — borisjohnson could ignore or test the law — but it would be highly controversial and he could end up in court. he could call for another election. this tactic has failed twice already but some speculate he might try to trigger one by calling fora vote of confidence in his own government. or he could just resign — and in doing so force whoever replaces him to ask the eu for an extension. meanwhile, jeremy corbyn has been speaking at the trades union congress in brighton. he committed to hold a second referendum on brexit but not whether the party would campaign

to remain in the eu or to leave in their manifesto — though he warned an election is coming. we are ready for that election. we are ready to unleash the biggest people powered campaign we've ever seen in this country and in this movement. applause. and in that election we will commit to a public vote with a credible option to leave and the option to remain. our political correspondent iain watson is at the conference in brighton — how significant is this commitment not to commit labour to leave or remain in a general election? i think it's hugely significant because actually labour's policy if there is a snap election, the policy they would pursue during that election campaign became clearer today. jeremy corbyn had been under

huge pressure by many figures in his party, very seniorfigures huge pressure by many figures in his party, very senior figures such as the deputy leader tom watson, to say during the election campaign that labour would unequivocally campaign to remain in the eu. today he said quite bluntly he's not going to do that, instead labour is going to try to negotiate its own brexit deal and put that brexit deal to voters in a referendum along with an option to remain. the reason that is so significant is he now has the big trade unions on board for that position and they have a huge influence in drawing up labour's election manifesto. his critics will say there's an obvious snag in the plan, because during the course of the entire election campaign, labour will be unable to say officially whether it actually wants to bring britain out of the eu or whether ultimately it would campaign to remain. thank you. and if you want to find out where the westminster parties

currently stand on brexit, go to bbc.co.uk/news. new figures show the uk's unemployment rate is at a as—year—low — atjust 3.8%. figures from the office for national statistics show the number of people in work rose to 32.7 million in the three months tojuly. wage growth remains strong and average earnings, which include bonuses, had the fastest rate of growth in 11 years. police in northern ireland say a bomb found in londonderry packed with a "significant" amount of explosives was an attempt by the dissident republican group the new ira to murder police officers. more than a0 petrol bombs and other missiles were thrown at police during a security search of the creggan estate yesterday when the device was found. police say two young people were injured in the disturbances. our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. pa rents were parents were urged to get their children home. as petrol bombs were thrown at police lines. officers say

at least two young people involved in the disorder suffered burns. here one is caught by the flames. the violence began when around 80 officers entered the area of derry known as the creggan. police had come to carry out searches in an operation targeting the new ira. a bomb was found in the boot of a car, it had a command wire which means it was likely to be detonated when the target was passing by. we know that the new ira are constantly planning to murder police officers. i don't know if there more devices in creggan but i would be fairly confident the new ira are planning further attacks against police in northern ireland. violent dissident republicans opposed the british governance of northern ireland. during rioting at easter, the aspiring journalist lyra mckee was shot dead by a new ira gunmen. it looks like a pretty ordinary street but this was the property where a

bomb was discovered last night, and had it detonated police say it would almost certainly have killed people nearby. the latest in a series of attem pts nearby. the latest in a series of atte m pts to nearby. the latest in a series of attempts to attack police in recent months. in january, attempts to attack police in recent months. injanuary, a car bomb was detonated outside derry‘s courthouse. several months later, a device was discovered at a golf club under a senior police officer's car. injuly, police were to a bb trap and similar tactics were used when a device exploded, officers say they we re device exploded, officers say they were lucky not to be killed. last weekend a mortar bomb was found near a police station and family homes in strother and. to have this in the middle of our streets where it could ta ke middle of our streets where it could take human life is very, very worrying and very sad. it's not clear what is behind the recent spike in attacks, and attempt some believed to exploit the publicity brought by brexit. groups like the

new ira pays a lesser threat than in decades past but are still able to recruit a limited heed to their cause. president trump has fired one of the most senior members of his administration, john bolton, his third national security advisor. in a tweet mr trump says he disagrees strongly with many of his suggestions. over 50 people have now been fired or left the white house since present trump took office. our north america editorjon sopel is at the white house this evening. what led to the falling out between these two and how much does it matter? i think it does matter, because he has a pivotal position in forming the policy of this administration. was it a surprise? yes, very much so, no was it a surprise? yes, very much so, no one was it a surprise? yes, very much so, no one saw it coming but the rumours had swirled for ages that they disagree profoundly on policy. the conventional narrative is that donald trump is impetuous and trigger—happy and he needs adults to restrain him, like john trigger—happy and he needs adults to restrain him, likejohn bolton. actually i think the truth was the

other way round. on iran, venezuela, john bolton seemed more keen to get involved in a fight with those countries and donald trump was urging restraint. ishould countries and donald trump was urging restraint. i should also say that, yes, donald trump tweeted this morning that he fired john bolton. john bolton came back within minutes of the tweets saying that i offered to resign last night, and president trump said let's talk about it tomorrow. it seems that this has been a very bitter parting of the ways, and what seems to be the final straw, last weekend. donald trump was going to host the taliban on the anniversary of 9/1! at camp david. john bolton let it be known he was unhappy about that and you don't do that without there being a price, and todayjohn bolton has walked the plank. the time is 6.17pm. our top story this evening: the scale of addiction to prescription drugs. hundreds of thousands of people in england are hooked. and still to come:

restoring the nation's peat bogs — how they could help in the fight against global warming. coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news, we hear from jimmy anderson. would he have made a difference in the ashes, and will he be available to help win them back in two years' time? today is world suicide prevention day, and it comes after the publication last week of annual figures for suicide rates in the uk by the office for national statistics. there were over 6,500 suicides last year — the highest total for more than 15 years. just over 1,600 women killed themselves. that compares with close to 5,000 men who took their own lives. it's the biggest killer of men under the age of 50. our health correspondent dominc hughes went to meet one group of men who come together to improve their mental health. this football team has saved lives. they call themselves rammy men.

nice to everyone, a lot of respect, no swearing. for some it's just a friendly kickabout in the former mill town of ramsbottom, north of manchester. movement, lads! but for others though, it's been much more vital. this time last year, i tried to kill myself. without the football, i don't know if i would still be here. due to pressure of work, three little ones, bills, having to pay everything, it just literally got too much for me. i didn't know what to do and my head just went. dan is far from alone. plenty of men battle with their mental health but struggle to admit they need help. founded by robert moss after a friend took his own life, rammy men is a place to share problems and find support. helping people with their mental health is almost a side effect of what we are doing. we are creating a community, and within that community, we look after each other. your viewers won't come to a session

where we treat their mental health, but they will come for a walk up the hill and we have a chat. and through that, you know, we feel better. the issues men face in ramsbottom are reflected across the uk. suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 50, particularly those entering middle age. they are three times more likely than women to take their own lives but much less likely to seek help from their gp or a mental health service. typically, for middle—aged men, you reach a point in life where you would expect to be more financially secure, probably in a more stable relationship, life is more sorted and you have a feeling of you know where you are going. if any of that changes, suddenly and unexpectedly, that can throw men into a real crisis. the issue seems to be getting the right support to men in settings in which they feel comfortable. thinking about where men go, where men are allowed to be men, so closer to what they understand

about themselves, and, at that point, taking the care and help we can offer from services out of traditional clinics or hospitals into the community where men actually are, i think that can only be a good thing. which brings us back to groups like rammy men and the advice from one who has been there. don't wait till tomorrow, don't wait till later in the day, just get off your bum and do something, whatever it is. dominic hughes, bbc news, ramsbottom. if you've been affected by any of the issues discussed in that report, you can find support, advice and links on the bbc‘s action line website — bbc.co.uk/actionline. the honours handed out to key political aides and former sports stars by the former prime minister theresa may in her resignation list has come in for criticism. not least from domestic abuse campaigners for the knighthood awarded to the former england cricketer and bbc test match special presenter geoffrey boycott.

in 1998, he was fined and given a three month suspended sentence for attacking a former girlfriend — charges he has always denied. mr boycott says he doesn't "give a toss" about the criticism. danny savage reports. that's it. geoffrey boycott, an england cricketing legend, a brilliant batsman and one of the great sportsman of his generation. he already has an obe but theresa may has now made him a night and she isa may has now made him a night and she is a big fan. one of my cricket heroes was always geoffrey boycott, and what do you know about geoffrey boycott? h e and what do you know about geoffrey boycott? he stuck to it and got the i’u ns boycott? he stuck to it and got the runs in the end. the knighthood is proving controversial though, because in 1998 he was convicted in france of beating his then girlfriend, margaret moore. he has a lwa ys girlfriend, margaret moore. he has always denied the assault. you apologise if you've done something wrong. you put your hand up. i a lwa ys wrong. you put your hand up. i always do about other things. i've made mistakes in my life, but i'm not going to put my hand up for

something i know i did not do. not going to put my hand up for something i know! did not do. but on radio four this morning he dismissed concerns from domestic violence charities. although the chief executive of women's aid said celebrating a man... i don't care a toss about her, love, that was 25 years ago. i am dismayed the committee has taken the decision to award the honour in this way. this type of honour makes you look at the whole person, not just type of honour makes you look at the whole person, notjust where type of honour makes you look at the whole person, not just where they have made an achievement in one particular field. it's a very serious issue here and it shows complete contempt for the thousands of women who are living with domestic abuse at the moment or are survivors of domestic abuse. he did lose work as a result of his conviction, but in recent years he has returned as a commentator. he currently works for the bbc. the people who know geoffrey boycott will say that his straight talking todayis will say that his straight talking today is typical of the man. and in the west yorkshire village where he lives there is a blue plaque outside his house advertising his presence. he isa his house advertising his presence. he is a very proud yorkshireman. but he says he does not care what people

think about his past, and as for his future, he says people can call him siror future, he says people can call him sir or just future, he says people can call him sir orjust geoffrey. he is an opinionated and sometimes outspoken public figure. today he is just the latest controversy in his life. a teenager who raped, murdered and abducted alicia mcphail has had his sentence reduced. he was sentenced to life with a minimum of 27 years for killing the six—year—old on the isle of bute last year. he'll now serve a minimum of 2a years in jail. the world needs to become "climate change resilient" — that's according to a new report, compiled by leaders in politics, business and science. it recommends strategies such as early warning systems, improved infrastructure and water management. the uk hopes to play its part by reducing carbon emissions dramatically by 2050. one way of achieving this is by conserving

the nation's peat bogs, which lock away almost two million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. victoria gill explains. towering signs of renewable energy. scotland's wind turbines in the first half of this year produced enough energy to power all of the country's homes. but in a low carbon future, in the fight against climate change, it is the ground beneath, acres of peat land, that may be a vital and overlooked resource. it's these squishy layers under my feet that are so super efficient at storing carbon. it's precisely because this bog stays waterlogged that the vegetation, as it dies, it doesn't dry out and decompose, it builds up in layers, so all of that carbon it absorbs as it grows is locked away in the ground. so it might not look like much, but astonishingly, it's about 20 times as much carbon as in all of the uk forests is held in peatlands, so that's just how important it is. unfortunately, about 80% of the uk's peatlands are not in a healthy state,

and that means they are net contributors to climate change right now. these disastrous peatland fires in sutherland in may this year burned and released carbon that had been stored here for centuries. but any degradation or damage to peat bogs can remove their ability to lock carbon away. we want to maximise the capacity to store more carbon, so where we can, if there is not a conflicting pressure that is more important, then effectively we want to return the sites to be as good a quality as possible and maximise the carbon sink. that is why conservation organisations like the rspb are restoring peat bogs, not only on their own reserves, but on adjacent farmland. absolutely. so, the watercourse was previously draining and eroding the peat in the bog, but now we have put in these peat dams, the water is backed up behind the dams, and spread out onto this previously dry area, and you can see it is deep peat, but it is deep peat which now has

stagnant moss growing on it. it's nice and wet, so not only is it protecting the peat that was there, it's now actually sequestrating carbon from the atmosphere and forming new peat, so it's now an active peat bog. so as the world works to keep carbon out of the atmosphere, these landscapes could pay a key role in storing the greenhouse gas under ground. victoria gill, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's mel coles. we have had a lull in proceedings as most we have had a lull in proceedings as m ost pla ces we have had a lull in proceedings as most places have remained dry and we've even seen most places have remained dry and we've even seen some most places have remained dry and we've even seen some sunshine, but it's all change heading into the evening thanks to this area of low pressure. wrapped in the remnants of the former hurricane dorian, but nothing unusual for this time of the year. it will bring a spell of wet and windy weather and it showing its hand across northern ireland in the western fringes of scotland with the wind is picking up to around 45 mph. through the evening we could see heavy bursts of rain on western facing slopes, but as the rain slips

towards the south and east slowly as the night goes on, it will tend to break up in fragment and lose some of its momentum. most places will see cloud increase through the night and there might be showers in scotla nd and there might be showers in scotland and northern ireland but most scotland and northern ireland but m ost pla ces scotland and northern ireland but most places will hold on to double digit temperatures, so i'll start to wednesday morning but a fairly murky start with quite a bit of cloud around and that rain will be more confined in the east of england, and behind at the skies will brighten and it will still be quite a blustery day and showers will rattle through quickly. temperature wise, we will see them pick up a little, particularly across parts of wales and southern england where we could see highs of around 21 celsius. as we head into thursday, we start to see the temperatures increase more, which is down to this area of low pressure which contains the remnants of the tropical storm gabrielle. another spell of windy weather for some, but that's only half the story because it will bring up some heat and humidity particularly for the

far south—east quarter of the uk. wet weather for northern ireland, western scotland, into northern england and north wales but away from that a good deal of fine, dry weather, brightness around and it will all be about the temperatures because on thursday the far south—east could see highs of 25 degrees. on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. goodbye.

hello, this is bbc news with lu kwesa burak. the headlines: president trump has sacked the national security advisor, the democratic unionist party has met borisjohnson to discuss brexit. he is considering possible changes to the irish backstop. the opposition leader, jeremy corbyn, has said he will offer another brexit referendum with an option