UK government refuses to accept responsibility for crimes against humanity

131109doublespeak

A guest report by Mo Stewart ©Mo Stewart April 2014

Following the bogus Work Capability Assessment (WCA) conducted by Atos Healthcare, as contracted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the United Kingdom (UK) Government admitted that it was wrong to cut the disability benefits of Mark Wood, the vulnerable disabled man who starved to death following the removal of his benefits, in the 21st century UK, when weighing only 5st 8lbs.

Regardless of this tragedy, the UK Conservative led Coalition Government still refuses to accept any responsibility.

Despite the fact that the WCA was introduced by the Labour Government in 2008, it was originally designed by previous Conservative Governments, in consultation with the notorious American corporate giant now known as Unum Insurance, identified in 2008 by the American Association for Justice as the second most discredited insurance company in America.

Without a welfare state, sick and disabled people in America are required to use private healthcare insurance. The tyranny now imposed on the sick and disabled people in the UK, using the WCA, was designed in consultation with Unum Insurance to oblige the general public to purchase private income protection insurance policies once it was made very clear that chronically sick and disabled people could no longer rely on the British State for adequate financial support.

Americans often suffer when attempting to claim from the income protection insurance policies of Unum Insurance, who use an identical bogus disability ‘assessment’ model as that used by Atos Healthcare.

Due to the similarities of the negative and damaging experiences of claimants, American sick and disabled people are periodically informed about the struggle in the UK by the high calibre and relentless work of Linda Nee, who tries to encourage claimants to publicly protest as witnessed in the UK, which it seems disabled Americans still don’t dare to do – such is the intimidation of Unum Insurance & the American authorities (see here, here and here).

The new report by The Mental Health Welfare Commission for Scotland, regarding a woman’s suicide after being ‘stripped of disability benefits’, was reported by John Pring at the Disability News Service (DNS) and by many others. The Coalition Government knew this carnage would happen.

Three years ago a list of distinguished academics, together with politicians and disability support groups, identified the future in a letter as published in The Guardian newspaper: ‘Welfare reform bill will punish disabled people and the poor.’ Now, three years after this letter was published, questions are being asked as to why the appointed and totally unsuitable Lord Freud, in his capacity as the Minister for Welfare Reform – who was not elected by anyone in the usual democratic way – deemed it necessary for the DWP to stop collating the numbers of deaths recorded after the long-term sickness and disability benefit, Incapacity Benefit, now changed to the Employment Support Allowance (ESA), is removed from claimants. (My emphasis.MS)

Questions are also being asked as to why this unelected former City banker was ever afforded so much authority and power in the UK Government given his reputation, where one commentator described Freud as: ‘…one of the key players in several of the most embarrassing and badly managed deals in investment banking history.’ (See here and here)(My emphasis. MS)

The recent welfare Backbench Business debate in the House of Commons (HOC) was granted due to the 104,000 signatures on the WOW petition, as gathered by disabled people and their carers, who are demanding a cumulative impact assessment of all the welfare reforms. The debate was held on February 27, 2014 where, lamentably, most Coalition Government Members of Parliament (MPs) failed to attend this very important and historic debate. Of course, Coalition MPs still played the ‘blame game’, reminding the opposition that the previous Labour Government had introduced the Work Capability Assessment (WCA).

However, the Coalition routinely overlook the fact that they knowingly changed the WCA into the government-funded nightmare that it is today, whilst MPs such as George Hollingbury (Column 430) actually claimed that the Coalition “took it forward”… (Welfare Reform Act 2012) whilst disregarding the fact that a WCA face-to-face assessment with Atos Healthcare is taking over six months to arrange. (Column 433) (My emphasis.MS)

Hollingbury waxes lyrically about all the ‘expert’ opinion (Column 431) that totally failed to expose the dangerous and limited reality of the WCA, not least due to the restricted possible answers in the tick box WCA computer questionnaire, as conducted by Atos Healthcare, that fail to offer the choice of ‘none of the above’ as an additional possible answer when the WCA questions do not refer to a particular claimant’s situation.

Hollingbury quotes Dr Litchfield’s WCA review whilst overlooking the fact that Professor Harrington, who conducted the first three annual reviews into the WCA, when no longer responsible, appeared in a BBC Panorama documentary and confirmed that ‘…people will suffer.’ No government representative can answer the subsequent obvious simple question – why should chronically sick and disabled people ‘suffer’ in the UK, apart from at the whim of a tyrannical government? (My emphasis.MS)

During the historic WOW petition debate, Alan Reid (Column 434 & 435) claims to be proud of his record in government as a Liberal Democrat (Lib Dem), still claiming that Lib Dems in government have been responsible for ‘improving’ the WCA process, whilst totally disregarding the fact that it is irrelevant how much more ‘flexibility’ is given to the DWP ‘Decision Makers’ and overlooking the fact that the ‘Decision Makers’, by their own admission, are totally unqualified for the vast responsibility they have. (My emphasis.MS)

They are basic grade administrators, not medical administrators, and they are incapable of comprehending diagnosis, prognosis or the implications of long term drug use when using a combination of prescribed drugs. (See here and here) More and more DWP bureaucracy with more and more administration means more and more delays, increasing DWP errors and utter chaos with a system clearly in meltdown as more and more victims of this UK government suffer and die. (See here and here) (My emphasis.MS)

Guto Bebb (Column 442) demonstrated that he is very poorly briefed, and doesn’t appear to want to be better informed, claiming that the damning report by the National Audit Office was ‘disappointing’ but insisted that the policy aims were OK. Bebb still seems to think that any sick or disabled person not in paid employment is ‘unproductive’. This disabled researcher begs to differ and, if the MP reads the very detailed published reports (here and here) as accessed by academics at universities throughout the UK, he’d know how incorrect he is.

Dame Angela Watkinson (Column 445) also appears to be remarkably poorly informed, as were various other speakers in this poorly attended yet important debate, who continued to repeat government rhetoric whilst disregarding the detailed evidence that has exposed the realities behind the ‘reforms’ as paving the way for private insurance to replace the once-hallowed UK Welfare State.

Since being introduced by the Conservative Government in 1992, all UK Governments have used the second worst insurance company in America as “government advisers” on welfare reforms, and the dangerous and totally discredited WCA is the result. (See here and here)

Jim Sheridan’s comments (Columns 448,449) were especially welcome during the debate when making reference to the new Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that has replaced DLA: “Reference has already been made to the obsession with people receiving welfare benefits, but for those with money – the tax avoiders and evaders – life goes on as normal. If only a fraction of the resources used and the time spent on chasing down those on welfare benefits was diverted to tackle tax avoidance and evasion, some people might understand the rationale behind it.”“When people finally hear about their assessments, there is not much hope. Only 15.4 per cent of new claims have received a decision, and only 12,654 of the 220,300 people who have made a new claim since April 2013 have been awarded some rate of PIP. A constituent of mine got in touch because her father had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Because there is a possibility that his treatment will work, giving him a life expectancy of up to five years, he has not been classed as terminally ill. He is not well enough to attend a medical assessment and so will have to wait longer for a home visit. It appears that letters from his GP, cancer doctor and cancer hospital are not enough to prove the seriousness of his illness.”“Inclusion Scotland has highlighted the case of the father of an applicant who was told that they would have to wait at least 10 months for any kind of decision, and perhaps even for a first assessment. A constituent of mine who is undergoing cancer treatment has been told that the eight-week time frame given by DWP is an unrealistic amount of time in which to process an application and offer an assessment slot. When my staff called the MP’s hotline, they were told that they simply cannot process the number of applicants as there is not enough staff. They also say that most people who have applied for PIP will not be entitled to it, even before individual cases have been looked at. If that is the mindset of the staff processing the applications, it is hard to see how balanced decisions will be made.” (My emphasis. MS)

Dr Eilidh Whiteford’s comments during the debate were also very welcome (Columns 450 & 451) and highlighted the vital work of the disability support groups such as the Black Triangle Campaign: “The Government are looking at this through the wrong end of the telescope. Raising the bar on eligibility will not make anyone any less sick or any less disabled; it will just make it more difficult for them to function in society and place more pressure on those on whom they rely for their care and support”…. “One of the most profoundly disheartening experiences for me as an MP since being elected in 2010 has been the relentless way in which disabled and sick people have been vilified and stigmatised in the public discourse about welfare reform. Those who had very little responsibility for the financial collapse and subsequent economic problems have nevertheless had to carry the can. The attempt to discredit disabled people in order to justify harsh and punitive cuts in their already fairly paltry incomes is quite shameful. It appals me that the most disadvantaged have been asked to pick up the tab disproportionately for the profligacy of others. As we look to the future, we see further cuts of £12 billion, at least, promised in the years ahead. For disabled people in Scotland, the choice between two very different futures is opening up before them: one with decisions on welfare made in Scotland or one where further cuts slash their incomes even more. That choice must seem very stark indeed.” (My emphasis. MS)

The very experienced Labour MP, John McDonnell, who requested this Backbench Business debate, actually confirmed the involvement of Unum Insurance with the entirely bogus WCA (Column 426): “The work capability assessment was flawed from the start. It stemmed from the work of the American insurance company Unum, and the so-called biopsychosocial model of disability assessment. That was exposed as an invention by the insurance companies simply to avoid paying out for claims.”“The staff employed in order to achieve that often had minimal medical or professional qualifications, and their expertise or experience was often totally unrelated to the condition or disability of the people they assessed.”“Assessments largely disregarded people’s previous diagnosis, prognosis or even life expectancy. The recent Panorama programme Disabled or Faking It? exposed the scandal of seriously ill patients—people diagnosed with life-threatening conditions such as heart failure or endstage emphysema—being found fit for work. The so-called descriptors, or criteria, on which assessments are based bear no relation to the potential employment available, take little account of fluctuating conditions and are particularly unresponsive to appreciating someone’s mental health issues.” John also identified the utter absurdity of this Government, introducing yet another bogus assessment as the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that will ‘replace’ DLA although it is likely to remove this additional support from the vast majority of the 3.5 million people in receipt of DLA.

Shockingly, the provision of a Motability long leased vehicle, as funded by the mobility component of the DLA, will now be removed from the majority of chronically disabled people who do work; thus actually preventing them from going to their place of work since they are physically unable to use public transport, which will dramatically and knowingly increase the numbers of disabled people not in paid employment. (Column 428) (My emphasis.MS)

No matter how many unnecessary tragedies are reported, or how many people die in utter despair and destitution, Conservative MPs like George Hollingbury will dismiss them all as ‘questionable’ results….and Alan Reid, for the Lib Dems, still actually claims to have had some positive function in a Government that helped sick and disabled people, whilst disregarding the horrors, the deaths, the suicides and the overwhelming evidence; including distinguished academic papers from UK universities, together with detailed reports by both the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nurses. Reid accepts no responsibility for the nightmare he helped to create, blaming anyone except the Government he belongs to. He needs to read the detailed, referenced research to help him learn what the disability movement already know. As he talks nonsense, people die.

Reid complains about Atos whilst ignoring the fact that the DWP is complicit. Totally unqualified DWP ‘Decision Makers’, under any UK Government, are dangerous as they aren’t qualified; they can’t comprehend diagnosis or prognosis and hence they are a liability and constantly make incorrect decisions. Their decisions to remove benefits from genuine claimants are killing the innocent victims of this UK State tyranny. Their countless wrong decisions mean that people die, encouraged by this enthusiastic and very dangerous UK Government, who sit back and watch as the majority of people blame Atos Healthcare who are simply following the DWP contract by using the bogus Lima computer assessment to conduct the WCA, as required by the DWP. (My emphasis.MS)

Atos Healthcare doesn’t remove anyone’s benefits – a constant incorrect claim by many – as they don’t have the authority. All Atos staff can do is to decide if someone is ‘fit for work’ based on the results of a bogus imported computer assessment. Any other company in the same position would result in the same conclusions as that is how the computer software in designed, which is why the Lima software should be banished and this particular WCA cancelled. (My emphasis.MS)

By definition, DWP ‘Decision Makers’ actually make the decisions about welfare benefits. These totally unqualified administrators are required to consider all additional evidence provided by the claimant; including detailed letters from Consultants and GPs who know their patients very well. It is the incompetence of the unqualified DWP Decision Makers, who fail to comprehend the details of medical information and choose to accept any decision following the WCA, as conducted by Atos Healthcare, that makes these DWP staff so very dangerous to the most vulnerable people in the UK. Mandatory reconsiderations won’t help if the Decision Makers remain unqualified for the job. What better way is there to remove as many people as possible from welfare benefits than to employ totally unqualified staff to make these vital decisions? (My emphasis.MS)

Identified claimant suffering includes dramatic increases in the onset of mental health problems. The General Practice (GP) service is close to collapse due to overwhelming numbers of patients needing support with DWP paperwork, that limits GP time spent with other patients who are ill and the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Royal College of Nurses (RCN) have both exposed the WCA as causing ‘preventable harm’ (as we have already seen). Yet this dangerous UK Government, with a Cabinet full of millionaires who fail to comprehend need, dismisses all other evidence regardless of source. They disregard the obvious fact that the ‘reforms’ are falling disproportionately onto chronically disabled people, and those who are very ill and in need of guaranteed long-term welfare benefits, as the Government sells the UK and transforms a once-great nation into UK plc. (My emphasis.MS)

In a now-infamous 2008 interview, Lord Freud claimed that he ‘couldn’t believe’ that anyone had been awarded a benefit ‘for life’, demonstrating the immense danger of permitting a former investment banker to have control of welfare spending when he fails to comprehend that many health conditions are permanent and do indeed last a lifetime. Meanwhile, the Public Accounts Committee’s report of February 2013 regarding the DWP’s contract management of medical services was unlimited in its criticisms of the DWP: ‘Poor decision-making causes claimants considerable distress, and the position appears to be getting worse, with Citizens Advice reporting an 83 per cent increase in the number of people asking for support on appeals in the last year alone. We found the Department to be unduly complacent about the number of decisions upheld by the tribunal and believe that the Department should ensure that its processes are delivering accurate decision-making and minimizing distress to claimants.‘ (My emphasis. MS)

There were many powerful speeches in the historic WOW petition debate and it isn’t possible to highlight them all. However, one name in particular should be highlighted for the courage to expose the fact that, if a link could be proven, “…there would be a case for corporate manslaughter.(Column 460) (My emphasis.MS)

I salute Caroline Lucas MP of the Green Party for her courage and, in particular, for her condemnation of the official opposition for their total failure to offer detailed, significant support to this nation’s chronically sick and disabled people, with the new Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions, Rachel Reeves MP, using her first interview to announce that she ‘…would be tougher on people on benefits’. (My emphasis.MS)

What a catastrophic announcement from the Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions that, effectively, offers this nation’s most vulnerable people no hope if the Labour Party were to win the next General Election in 2015.

Given the recent announcement by the largest trade union UNITE, who have threatened to withdraw financial support for the Labour Party due to their abject failure to identify with the working people of this country, there seems little chance of a Labour Government in the UK any time soon. Any future Conservative or Coalition Government will continue to kill many more innocent victims in this state-sanctioned slaughter, which remains the ultimate Thatcher Legacy as interpreted by her devoted disciple – David Cameron.

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19 Comments

  1. jaynel62 April 9, 2014 at 1:16 pm - Reply

    Reblogged this on jaynelinney and commented:
    A comprehensive report by Mo Stewart which MUST be read by anyone in receipt of/involved with Welfare Benefits.

    Many Thanks to Mike for posting this

    • Mo Stewart April 9, 2014 at 3:25 pm - Reply

      Thanks Jayne

    • mozzas01Mo Stewart April 9, 2014 at 4:33 pm - Reply

      Grateful thanks to Mike for publishing my report & for his valuable support of the chronically sick & disabled people of the UK.

  2. First Night Design April 9, 2014 at 1:19 pm - Reply

    Excellent.

  3. sdbast April 9, 2014 at 1:22 pm - Reply

    Reblogged this on sdbast.

  4. jeffrey davies (@jeffrey33333) April 9, 2014 at 1:40 pm - Reply

    yet it stems from Unum they just waiting for that glorious sell off of our nhs and medical records yet mo sais about unums strength in all this and still here today yep making monies even from our medical records even when dead jeff3

  5. samedifference1 April 9, 2014 at 2:24 pm - Reply

    Reblogged this on Same Difference.

  6. jaypot2012 April 9, 2014 at 2:43 pm - Reply

    I am still truly amazed at the lack of opposition from both the British people as well as the Labour party. To think that they could actually let this death and destruction go on and not do anything about it is not apathy as most people say, it’s downright laziness and cowardice.
    I am ashamed of the opposition – they have opportunity after opportunity to fight the unelected coalition yet have let it all go. It’s all very well giving out the situations that people are in when they visit their MP and then he/she takes it to the house – it’s done nothing and the examples of the said people have fallen at the wayside and left there. It doesn’t matter what you do now Labour, this evil government are so arrogant that they will carry on doing what they are doing and “sod everyone who is disabled” – which has been their attitude all along. If this mess of a government can just ignore what high ranking Judges have told them they have to do, then what does that say about them? It’s saying that you couldn’t beat them with a slab of custard and proving that you can’t. You have a year to go Labour – get off your blue arses, put on your red ties and fight with everything you can – if you need lots of advice then ask Denis Skinner, that man may be getting very old, but by God, he has more gumption in his little finger than the rest of you, as a party, have between you all.
    I am ashamed of the people of this country and their pretend ignorance on what is going on in the UK, especially what is happening with the disabled and long term sick! The people are all stuck in a “I’m alright Jack” attitude and have lost the most inner parts of being a human – their love for their fellow man and their understanding of the needy, their understanding of the Welfare State and their conscience. This shows that the citizens of the UK are drones to the government when they sit and hide behind their computers and agree with the media on there, they read newspapers and agree with the disabled being punished for the bankers losses, and talk in public about how “they” have to keep the likes of those scroungers who sit in their wheelchairs for public events, but are the ones that are standing at the bar of a pub, first!
    If only they could hear themselves like I hear them – they are pathetic and they are the ones that should actually take more notice of what is going on. These silly fools are agreeing with a government that they are scared of, getting wound up about us disabled having too much money etc. whilst behind the scenes the government are getting companies and corporations to get rid of more and more staff so that the jobs can go to the other “disgusting lot”, the unemployed! They can work for nothing so if the companies got rid of more and more staff they could take on more and more slaves, pay them nothing and get paid for actually doing it!!
    As for those who think that they are never sick, are in great health etc – watch out, it only takes ONE SECOND to become disabled and join the ranks of the “wheelchair scroungers” or similar, then lets see how you can live on a low income with a disability that has stopped you doing everything you love.
    I hope that Scotland gets independence away from the cruelest bunch of politicians the UK has ever seen, away from the fear of having this unelected nazis in power for another 5 years, and away from so many of the welfare changes, including PIP as that is one of the things that the Scottish government would drop immediately!

    • Mo Stewart April 9, 2014 at 3:28 pm - Reply

      The British people don’t know about Unum’s influence with the UK government as no national press are willing to expose it. The only reference to it in the published media is via New Statesman and Private Eye. All other info is limited to online websites and blogs.

    • bookmanwales April 9, 2014 at 5:36 pm - Reply

      Exactly right about the British people, lazy and self centred with little regard for each other.
      However, in their defence I do have to point out that this lifestyle has been fostered on them, approved, encouraged and made to seem normal by consecutive Governments since the 80’s.
      Maggie and her “everyone respectable should be a homeowner” Blair and his “New Labour” ideal that closely followed Maggies with all their corruption and unelected officials screwing us and now the Condems doing exactly the same.
      34 years of telling people “you are better than anyone else”, “you need more than anyone else to prove you are better”
      Not many people under 50 can remember the stigma of benefits in the 60’s when the “dole” came round and counted how many chairs you had, or whether you had jewellery to sell or pawn, or good clothes that could be sold or pawned(plenty of work around then anyway) for disabled or sick people it was a life tied to a hospital or a single room, for single parents, and more especially their kids it was the hand me down clothes, standing in line with other “poor kids” to recieve free meals, missing all the school trips, school parties, and having clothes too “scruffy” to be invited round to schoolfriends homes and being ridiculed and whispered about by the other parents and finally having no tea on a Sunday or Monday (or sometimes both) because the money had run out and there were no further safety nets.
      Just maybe, if the Tories bring all that back and it affects a good number of people, maybe then they will get off their lazy a*ses and do what we did in the 70’s fight for something better.

  7. jaypot2012 April 9, 2014 at 2:44 pm - Reply

    Reblogged this on Jay's Journal and commented:
    A must read!

  8. Timmo April 9, 2014 at 2:50 pm - Reply

    Labour is still fully behind continuation of a “reformed” Work Capability Test though isn’t it?

  9. Nickum Afrikanikum April 9, 2014 at 3:00 pm - Reply

    Dear Mike, I have the utmost pleasure of his grace the MP George Holingberry coming to my HA house 29th April, I wish to quizz him and point out my case, and other’s( I sent him an email with large attachments re media, personal issues on the WCA by Atos/DWP), he of course loves the WCA.. any fuel, ammo will be most happily recieved by me to use for him, against the libcon WCA.. thanks, Nick

  10. Thomas M April 9, 2014 at 4:37 pm - Reply

    Is there any point in voting Labour I wonder if they are just as bad? I sometimes think that I might as well waste my vote and vote TUSC.

  11. Stuart Warrent April 9, 2014 at 4:45 pm - Reply

    Corrupted & human rights violation at the top level & all the time paying for their houses disgusting

  12. samspruce April 9, 2014 at 8:07 pm - Reply

    There could be so much to say in reply to this article. On the subject of Doublespeak, “Wordplay and Perversion” Two things bother me which I consider worth thinking about. One is the use of the word ‘sanction’. It now has two meanings in the dictionary. It is a perversion and doublespeak. When an ‘agreement’ has been made one party (the more powerful) attempts to control the other by legitimising or ‘sanctioning’ a breaking of that agreement on their part. But it is now most commonly used to mean imposing a penalty. It is not people’s benefits that are sanctioned, it is the “illegitimate removal” of what is theirs that is sanctioned. Another frightening example is the quite deliberate changing of the name of the Department of Social Security to the Department for Work and Pensions. Would I have to emphasise the fact that it is no longer concerned with the poor, unemployed, sick and disabled ‘stock’. I can’t give references but I am aware of significant theories that the development of what we call intelligence was enabled by ‘speech’. Words! It is one of the urgent reasons for protecting minority languages because they embody paradigms in the language. I am frequently distressed by the endless – the infinite – words in trying to prove these people are wrong. It seems that as the discussion bifurcates, multiplies, and cascades into a myriad of issues and distractions one is inadvertently drawn into using their terminology thereby obfuscating the essential issues. This article serves only to support those who already know the system is wrong. It is useful in that sense because it unifies people against the opposition. But it does nothing to educate the purveyors of this inconsistent, irrational, illogical and actually insane ‘conceptualisation’ of the situation. Currently I suspect the whole issue is about the priority of money over people. Given the ‘Christian’ basis of our culture and the ‘justification’ used so often it’s not the murderers, thieves and prostitutes that are the real evil so much as the insidious hypocrisy of the hierarchy.

  13. […] A guest report by Mo Stewart ©Mo Stewart April 2014 Following the bogus Work Capability Assessment (WCA) conducted by Atos Healthcare, as contracted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), t…  […]

  14. david April 10, 2014 at 3:42 pm - Reply

    I agree with Lord Freud – I cant believe’ that anyone had been awarded a benefit ‘for life’, yes I am referring to the ‘LORD’ life peerage , yes you lord fraud have been granted a benefit for life may it be short

  15. Charles Loft April 25, 2014 at 11:15 pm - Reply

    Because I upset the friend of the son of someone of considerable financial importance to the place I was teaching by trying to restore order in the face of their long-term disruption in the classroom, they contrived to dismiss me for misconduct so I was unable to claim on an income protection policy they would have known I had because of the father’s bank connections, and making me unable to claim on PPI either on my credit cards. Such is the UK. This was with my having a mortgage and large family to support.

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