Tag Archives: tamper

Government is delaying Covid-19 inquiry, say bereaved families threatening court challenge

Satire? This image suggesting the Tories were lying about their Covid-19 strategy may be more accurate now than at the time it was made. Why is an inquiry into the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic being delayed? Is evidence being altered or destroyed before it becomes illegal to do so?

Families who lost loved ones in the Covid-19 crisis are preparing a court challenge against the Tory government, which they fear is delaying an inquiry into its handling of the pandemic.

Boris Johnson appointed Baroness Hallett to chair the inquiry in December 2021, and has said it would begin in spring this year. But spring is over and no terms of reference have been published nor setting-up-date specified.

Under the 2005 Inquiries Act, an inquiry “must not begin considering evidence before the setting up date” and once an inquiry is under way it is an offence under the Act to destroy or tamper with evidence.

So the longer the setting up date is delayed, the more evidence it is possible for … someone… to alter or destroy.

That’s the concern of the group Covid-19 bereaved families for justice, who are planning a judicial review into the failure.

Elkan Abrahamson, head of major inquiries at Broudie Jackson Canter, who is representing the group, said taking legal action is the “last thing” families want but they may be left with no choice. He said: “In the vast majority of inquiries a setting-up date is given within days or weeks of the chair being appointed, so this delay of over six months is both unprecedented and totally inexplicable.

“The consequences are extremely serious, as it only becomes a criminal offence to destroy or tamper with evidence after the inquiry’s start date. By failing to give one, the Prime Minister is opening the door to key evidence being destroyed.”

Not only that, but a delay like this means it will take longer, and be more difficult, to learn lessons from the pandemic and the government’s failures in handling it.

Perhaps most to the point, though, is this: Boris Johnson has claimed that he needs to stay on as prime minister to “get on” with tackling the issues that matter most to people – but instead he is delaying a vital inquiry.

He can’t say it’s because he had to deal with the challenges to his own leadership because he has already told us he considers them to have been nothing more than a time-wasting sideshow; he should have been handling the issues that matter – not diverting time and energy to his own self-preservation.

All the government has been able to say is that the inquiry’s terms of reference will be published shortly. Nothing has been said about the setting-up date.

So, what’s really going on here? And do we need a judicial review to establish what’s really going on at the heart of our government?

Source: Bereaved ready to take Government to court over Covid inquiry delay

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DWP caught LYING: it has tampered with thousands more benefit applications than it admitted

Remember when This Site reported that the DWP had admitted tampering with thousands of benefit claims in order to deny the claimants the cash they were due?

It turns out the DWP lied about the extent of its interference: it didn’t just mess with 2,300 claims in 2019 – the true figure was 3,490.

And in 2018, assessors marked down or rejected 3,360.

That makes a total of 6,850 claims that the Department for Work and Pensions deliberately altered – for no reason other than to deprive genuine benefit claimants of the money they genuinely deserved.

The Record exposed the secret audits over a year ago when a Scot with MS and mental health problems was sent before-and-after copies of his assessment for a Personal Independence Payment claim.

The original was submitted by a nurse after an assessment. It was then plucked from the files by a private firm and systematically marked down, leaving him without any support.

The changes show the auditor was routinely disregarding professional opinion on the claimant’s health.

In 2018, the IAS contractor marked down or scrapped 2240 files, followed by 2300 in the following year.

A second contractor, Capita marked down or rejected 1120 assessments followed by another 1190.

In This Site’s previous story about this scandal, I wrote: “In the benefit system, trust has always been a lopsided concept. The DWP questions everything claimants say, while they are supposed to accept every decision the DWP makes as fair and just.

“And now we know that it simply isn’t true.

“I guess it just proves the old adage that a liar won’t believe anybody else.”

And the DWP is still lying about this!

The department’s comment to the Record was: “We are absolutely committed to ensuring people receive the support they are entitled to.

“Assessments are carried out by qualified health professionals and we continue to work with them to ensure quality is continuously improving.”

It’s excuse for dismissing professional opinion was: “Sometimes assessment reports are returned to providers to ensure we have as much information as possible to reach an accurate decision.”

That makes absolutely no sense at all. The assessments were altered to remove information – not to add more.

It would be more accurate to state: “Sometimes assessment reports are returned to providers to ensure we remove information that would prohibit us from reaching the inaccurate decision necessary to hit our quota of rejections.”

After all, DWP bosses have to make sure they qualify for those huge bonuses we’ve just discovered, don’t they?

Source: DWP in tampering scandal after nearly 7000 health assessments changed or binned – Daily Record

Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.

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The Livingstone Presumption is now available
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Health Warning: Government! is now available
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The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
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