An airline has apologised to a disabled woman after it sent her a form asking whether her appearance or smell were likely to offend other passengers.

Barbara Howie, a wheelchair user, contacted DN about the Thai Airways form after reading in our letters page how the same airline had denied discriminating against a boy with cerebral palsy (DN October, November).

She had been sent the form for her GP to complete, two weeks before she and her husband, who is visually impaired, were due to fly to Bangkok from Heathrow last November.

It was the first time in 33 years of flying that she had to fill in such a form. She said: "I was absolutely horrified. I couldn’t believe it. My doctor thought I was joking."

Howie said the airline also failed to supply a chair that would have allowed her to visit the toilet during the 13-hour flight, although she had booked it in advance.

She said she would never travel with Thai Airways again.

An airline spokeswoman apologised for the form and said it was no longer in use and must have been sent to her in error.

Police chiefs have denied there is confusion over their policy on allowing officers to use "discretion" in deciding whether to arrest disabled people taking cannabis for medicinal purposes.

Last month, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) refused to tell DN whether new guidance on dealing with cannabis offences would let officers be more lenient to people using the drug to ease medical conditions.

But DN has discovered that ACPO guidelines on dealing with cannabis offences already allow officers discretion in cases of therapeutic use.

The guidance recommends that a caution is usually appropriate in such cases, rather than a prosecution.

An ACPO spokesman said: "I do not think there is necessarily confusion."

But he said he did not know why ACPO had not admitted last month that this discretion already exists.

Meanwhile, GW Pharmaceuticals (GW), which is developing cannabis-based medicines, has announced that four trials of its drugs showed they led to significant reductions in neuropathic pain (np), spasticity and sleep disturbance in people with multiple sclerosis and np.

The company now hopes to apply for approval from the Medicines Control Agency early next year, with a possible launch of the UK’s first cannabis-based medicine later in 2003.

Five other GWP trials, including studies of drugs for pain in cancer and spinal cord injury, should be completed next year.

Visually impaired people have accused the Royal National Institute for the Blind of reinforcing a negative image of blind people in its latest advertising campaign.

The advert lists everyday activities like "curl up with a good book", "make your children smile" and "complete an application form", which you can do "today", next to a statistic saying "tomorrow, over a hundred people like you will start to lose their sight".

The RNIB said the advert did not imply that blind and partially sighted people could not undertake these activities.

But Alex Stone, London chairman of the National Federation of the Blind and a member of the RNIB’s advisory assembly, said: "I don’t see how anyone could look at the advert and not feel it implies that, if you are one of the unlucky 100 people that loses their sight, you won’t be able to do the things listed.

"How can blind people expect to be treated as anything other than figures of pity if this is the kind of information people are receiving from the largest blindness charity in the country?"

BBC reporter and ex-RNIB worker Claire Jennings said she received complaints from visually impaired people who phoned the Radio 4 programme In Touch. They believed the advert reinforced prejudice and ignorance.

She also said the charity failed to show visually impaired people the full version of the ad in focus group trials.

Her claims were denied by RNIB’s head of communications, Lynne Stockbridge, the ad’s author, who said it was presented in full and received "absolutely no objections".

A government decision to postpone checks on care staff working with vulnerable adults will lead to more abuse, according to a learning disability charity.

The Ann Craft Trust (ACT) spoke out after the government said care homes would have until the end of 2004, instead of next March, to check their staff with the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).

Home Office Minister Lord Falconer also said staff supplied by domiciliary care agencies would not need to have checks "for the time being", because of CRB delays in processing applications.

And Health Secretary Alan Milburn agreed to postpone the introduction of the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list, designed to prevent unsuitable care workers finding posts.

Two months ago, the General Social Care Council admitted to DN that it could take ten years to put all care workers on its new social care register.

Deborah Kitson, director of ACT, said the delays would make abuse more likely.

She said: "It just seems the government are not taking it seriously. We feel like we have taken backward steps."

The Department of Health said it was "firmly committed" to improving protection and would introduce the checks as soon as possible.

• ACT has joined up with fellow charities Respond, Voice UK and Action on Elder Abuse to form the Adult Protection Alliance which will campaign and bid for research funding.

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