Lawyers call for full investigation into death of ex-soldier after DWP sanction

Last Updated: April 14, 2016By
The late David Clapson, who died in July 2014 after his benefit was cut [Image: change.org petition site].

The late David Clapson, who died in July 2014 after his benefit was cut [Image: change.org petition site].

Remember this? The fight for justice against an unjust Conservative Government is still going on.

Law firm Leigh Day are calling for a full and public investigation into the death of a 59-year-old ex-soldier who died in 2013 after he was ‘sanctioned’ by the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP).

David Clapson was a Lance Corporal in the Royal Signals serving in Belfast at the height of the troubles before leaving the army to work for BT. After working for the telecommunications firm for 16 years he became a carer for his elderly mother.

According to his sister Gill Thompson, David was a proud and private man who found asking for help very difficult. David also suffered Type 1 Diabetes and relied on regular insulin shots to survive.

In 2014 Ms Thompson started a petition with Change.org which gained over 200,000 signatures which helped to secure a Parliamentary Select Committee Inquiry in March 2015, which came up with 26 recommendations.

However, the Government rejected Gill’s calls for an Independent Review into David’s death and the deaths of others in similar circumstances and rejected the recommendation of the Select Committee that the number of peer reviews into deaths of persons subject to a sanction be made public.

The Government also refused to accept the recommendation of an independent body to conduct more reviews into the deaths of those in receipt of ‘working-age’ benefits  Government response here.

Merry Varney from the law firm Leigh Day who is representing Ms Thompson in her fight for an inquest into her brother’s death, said:

“David had a made a significant contribution to the wider public good, working in the Forces at a difficult time and later providing personal care for his elderly mother. At the time he needed support, he was made destitute for failing to attend a meeting.

“Managing Type 1 Diabetes requires good nutrition and regular insulin injections. Rendering a person unable to afford food and/or unable to chill their insulin is likely to have fatal consequences. David’s death must be investigated to make sure safeguards are in place to protect others and to establish whether the DWP knowingly cut off David’s lifeline.”

Source: Lawyers call for full investigation into death of ex-soldier after DWP sanction

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6 Comments

  1. Nick April 14, 2016 at 10:40 am - Reply

    It will go nowhere mike like all the other thousands of welfare reform deaths that have taken place over the past few years

  2. mrmarcpc April 14, 2016 at 12:52 pm - Reply

    This will sadly go nowhere, like many of the other deaths at the hands of the DWP/government, is there to be a petition?

  3. Brian April 14, 2016 at 3:55 pm - Reply

    Deluded Cameron considers ‘HE’ is the government. Reality is the whole Tory benches are the government, despite the fact they do not listen to the electorate or evidence they are equally responsible for welfare deaths. The Tory benches are just as responsible for these deaths by knowingly acting and voting on harmful policies. Every Tory MP will have to account for their actions. They know what is going on, and must be held to account. The more these legal actions take place the more evidence will be sought and published. So Nick, in that respect you can not say it will “go nowhere”.

  4. Lell April 14, 2016 at 4:24 pm - Reply

    This poor souls story made me cry, its appalling to treat someone like that, I really hope his family find some justice.

  5. Gary Aronsson April 14, 2016 at 5:53 pm - Reply

    When are people going to grasp that if you want to reduce poverty you have to reduce the primary cause of it? Anyone who refuses to admit that unrestricted mass immigration robs the Working Class of the scarcity value of their labour is at least tacitly responsible for what happened to this poor man.

    Without the annual influx of several hundred thousand immigrants to Britain,far in excess of the number who leave,British employers would be compelled to not only take what they can get but to increasingly pay higher wages.Instead of an almost static level of high unemployment we would see a return to FULL EMPLOYMENT within a single parliament with a consequent drop in the Welfare Bill and a decline in poverty.Those still unable to accept the offer of work would be no longer badgered as the Welfare Bill would be smaller and the Tax Income higher,thus the State would be able to better care for those still in need.

    Every single major problem facing the British people is either caused by unrestricted mass immigration or exacerbated by it,and the quicker this is recognised and the obvious solution put into effect the better!

  6. Terry Davies April 15, 2016 at 5:53 am - Reply

    this is evidence of an unfair, uncivilised, and unacceptable system. the government elected as a minority are representing a minority. all opposition parties must form a block vote against each and every policy the tories want to pass through Parliament even if it means the UK is ungovernable. this will force a no confidence vote and disempower tories.
    deselection should be the only cross party vote and it should be enshrined in UK and EU laws.
    this will permanently force more proper consultation with the electorate and disempower politicians in europe and the UK.
    A randomly chosen peoples panel should oversee the MPs performances. likewise their evaluated salaries and receipted expenses.
    Housing costs shouldnt be paid however purpose built apartments should be available for them to rent at a nominal fee for times they need to be in london for Parliamentary business.
    Voting entitlement should not be automatic but entitlement should be granted if the individual MP has attended 75% of the debate sessions. Fillibustering should be disallowed with length of speeches determined by a cross party agreement on duration and relevant content for debate.
    The parliamentary speaker should have impartiality of the chairperson’s approach regularly monitored by the people’s panel.
    the house of Lords of Lords should be phased out likewise the royal family. both of these traditions should go with no replacement when key members pass on.
    Corruption, proven tax evasion etc should be legally defined and subject to automatic dismissal as proscribed by irrevocable statute sections.
    These when not proven should be subject to the MP having rights to continue for their elected term. Not withstanding yearly performance monitoring by the peoples panel
    The panel should he replaced yearly and people chosen should be eligible to serve for one year for receipted costs accesible to the public.

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