DWP in dirty tricks row after abusive comments about disabled ex-MP
Dame Anne Begg, former chair of the Commons Work and Pensions committee.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is mired in a dirty tricks row after an anonymous comment that mirrored tabloid scrounger rhetoric – and attacked a disabled former Labour MP – was sent from a computer just yards from its headquarters.
The comment was posted on the Disability News Service (DNS) website, in response to an interview with Dame Anne Begg, who lost her seat in this month’s general election.
In the interview, Dame Anne was heavily critical of the Conservative party and Tory work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, and said she feared that disabled people would bear the brunt of a new wave of cuts to the social security budget, with the Conservative manifesto pledging another £12 billion a year in “savings”.
Two days after the interview with Dame Anne was posted on the DNS website, a comment appeared from a reader who called himself/herself “Joshie Bhoy”.
“Joshie” added: “Hopefully once the deficit is paid there will be more money available [for]those who are genuine and in need…
“She is just pissed off that she is now off the gravy train like all the others who lost their seats but suspect she will still shop at M&S as opposed to Lidl or Aldi.”
Because some of the comments closely mirrored Tory policy and the language used by right-wing commentators and politicians, DNS checked the location of the computer from which the message was sent.
This showed that it appeared to have been sent from Methodist Central Hall, which has a large public cafeteria and is next-door to DWP’s Westminster headquarters in Tothill Street.
The search also shows that the comment was made on a computer using wireless broadband, suggesting that it was sent from a laptop by someone visiting the building.
Source: DWP in dirty tricks row after abusive comments about disabled ex-MP
Why must the author of the comment have been visiting the Methodists?
Can’t a wireless broadband signal go through walls?
I get a connection to a free wifi pub next door to my local haunt, also another pub, but after a search it cuts out when you try to load a page from the search, but go next door into the place and you connect no problem. SO IMHO they were inside the place and using a device be it a mobile or a laptop while in the place.
Assuming the WiFi was secured, yes it can go through walls but a password would be required.
i have always been a critic of Anne and always told her by phone she needed to do more or the deaths of the sick and disabled will continue
She never really grasped what i was saying i felt despite my going into great detail i always came away from the conversation as if i had been speaking to a brick wall
i’m sure she did her best and her brain shut down to protect her of the enormity of what i was saying as it is a most horrific thing to be dealing with and watching people die and not being able to do anything about it and her being on the committee made no difference whatsoever