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| The Sun, 3 February 2006 |
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| THE number of junkies and drunks claiming sickness benefits has DOUBLED under Labour, official figures reveal. |
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| Between 1997 and 2005 those on handouts due to drug addiction soared from 21,900 to 48,300 and claims based on alcohol rose from 27,100 to 48,000. |
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| The devastating figures come after the Government downgraded cannabis and opened the doors to 24-hour boozing. |
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| Yesterday shadow welfare reform minister David Ruffley said: "The Government's failure to fight rising alcohol and drug misuse is pushing more vulnerable people to benefits dependency." |
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| Government figures also show the number on sickness handouts for more than five years has risen 20-fold since 1997. |
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| It has leapt from 68,000 when Labour came to power to |
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| 1.5million last year. Incapacity benefit costs taxpayers £ 12.5billion a year. |
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| Tony Blair has pledged to shave one million off the 2.8million claimants. |
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| Last night work minister Margaret Hodge said: "These figures illustrate why we made absolutely clear that we will overhaul the current system that consigns people to a lifetime on benefits." |
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