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Perhaps these unorthodox views — and Hubbard’s name on the website and in Narconon’s annual report — should have rung alarm bells with teachers at Marlborough and the other schools that pay the charity £140 a session to lecture their pupils. But it was not until this weekend — when contacted by The Sunday Times — that the schools appear to have become aware of how controversial Narconon is.

The charity, based in St Leonards, East Sussex, claims to be an independent organisation. But Professor Stephen Kent, a Canadian academic who is an authority on Scientology, said: “The connection between Narconon and Scientology is solid. Of course, Scientology tries to get non-Scientologists involved in the programme, but the engine behind the programme is Scientology.”

THE disclosures come as the Church of Scientology is engaged in a push to win new disciples and gain acceptance in British society.

Its critics claim it is a cult that uses hard-sell and mind control to separate devotees from their money and, in more serious cases, from their families. Scientologists reject this and claim to have a good record in resolving family conflicts.

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Andreas Heldal-Lund, who has researched Scientology and runs Operation Clambake, a website critical of the organisation, said: “Most people might see them as a bit of a joke because of their beliefs and teachings. But they are in fact the most controversial and dangerous cult in the western world today, and pose a real threat to free speech.”

In Britain, Narconon has a number of Scientologists among its trustees and leading members. They include Michael “Woody” Woodmansey, a former drummer for David Bowie.

Two years ago a panel of drug-abuse experts, including four doctors, were asked to examine Narconon’s work in schools by the state of California’s department of education. One of the panel, Steve Heilig, a director at the San Francisco Medical Society, said last week: “When we reviewed Narconon we all felt it did not reflect scientific knowledge or good educational approaches to this issue. There were a lot of problems with the science of it — there were claims made in there that drugs remain in your body forever unless you use these very specific techniques such as niacin and saunas.

“That’s where you start to get the red flags raised about this link to Scientology because those are the theories that come out of some of the writings of L Ron Hubbard, who was a science fiction writer.”

The British government expressed concern about Narconon as long as eight years ago. A 1998 memo from the Home Office’s drug strategy unit warned that the charity had its “roots in the Church of Scientology and (is) not in the mainstream of drug rehabilitation”.

Tower Hamlets council in east London advises its schools against using Narconon. DrugScope, one of the UK’s main drug charities, said: “We feel that the quality of Narconon’s information is not objective and non-judgmental. It does not have any credibility.”

Stephen Shaw, the prisons ombudsman, advised that inmates in British jails should not receive drug education from Narconon because it is so “closely associated with the Church of Scientology”.

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