Chris Packham says Health Secretary is echoing 'reactionary' talking points on ADHD

The veteran TV presenter, who has the mental health condition, told LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr: "I fear that once again, our government is knee jerking to satisfy a community which is suspicious of these things.

"But what I welcome is the fact that if this is a scientifically based, and that's how we should make best informed decisions based upon real evidence".

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His comments come after Streeting ordered a review of the diagnosis of mental health conditions as the Government seeks a new means of cracking down on welfare spending, according to reports.

On his own experiences, Chris added: "The experience is very different now than it was during my childhood in the 1960s and 70s when that condition was not more widely understood and it was far more challenging for me as a young person to exist in society, to fit in and complete my education and manage my own mental health.

"And what I hope is that going into the future, where we now have a far broader understanding of this condition and the way that it impacts upon people's lives, that we can develop a wider understanding in society so that we are able to facilitate comfortable, successful education for young people.

"So whilst we welcome an independent scientific based investigation to this that Wes Streeting has announced today, what we also fear is, is that we're still looking at a situation where young people are not sufficiently supported and therefore when they're looking at waiting times of perhaps four years for a diagnosis in the most formative part of their life, they can still be essentially disabled from being able to fulfil that education and therefore find a fruitful role in later life."

The Health Secretary is concerned about a sharp rise in the number of people making sickness benefits claims because of diagnoses for mental illness, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the Times reported.

Mr Streeting has charged leading experts with finding out whether normal feelings have become "over-pathologised", the newspaper said, as he seeks to grapple with the 4.4 million working age people now claiming sickness or incapacity benefit.

The figure has risen by 1.2 million since 2019 while the number of 16 to 34-year-olds off work with long-term sickness because of a mental health condition is said to have grown rapidly in the same period.

The review comes as ministers seek to tackle the growing welfare bill.