Strings pulled for composer

THE composer Sir William Walton’s dependence on Ritalin in later life left officials and doctors making extraordinary efforts to help him, a file shows.

They pulled strings to help him get ‘up to 2,000’ tablets a year while living in Italy when the drug was not available there.

Ritalin is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and can be used for fatigue in the elderly.

The newly released file does not say why Sir William was being prescribed it but reveals he was ‘very dependent’ on it.

He used to pick up Ritalin on trips to London to take to his home on Ischia in the Bay of Naples. But after 1978 his doctor was told prescribing drugs for export was unlawful.

In the following years Home Office officials made arrangements – working with the Italian ambassador in London and narcotics officials in Italy – to help him get Ritalin. He died aged 80 in 1983 on Ischia.