Police, prosecutors and magistrates have won praise for using hate crime legislation to increase the sentence imposed on a hairdresser who shaved an offensive word into the hair of a man with learning difficulties. The man had visited the Jam Cut […]
News Archive
Low Review given cool reception
A report into one of the most controversial of the government’s planned welfare reforms has been given a cool reception by leading disabled people’s organisations (DPOs). The review of the government’s plans to remove mobility payments from disabled people in council-funded […]
Anger and shock over BBC’s ‘offensive’ welfare documentary
Outraged campaigners have attacked the BBC for screening an “offensive” documentary about the benefits system. Campaigners say that the documentary – presented by the veteran BBC journalist John Humphrys – was “shockingly poor” and little better than “propaganda” for the government’s […]
Second disability history month will celebrate struggle for equality
The life of Helen Keller, disability hate crime and the history of the Disabled People’s Direct Action Network (DAN) are among the subjects that will be discussed and debated during the second UK Disability History Month. The month-long series of events […]
Commons faces legal threat after debate access anger
A disabled activist is threatening to take legal action against the House of Commons after he and other wheelchair-users were refused entry to a debate on accessible transport. Adam Lotun was one of a handful of wheelchair-users who were told the […]
Alarm as government cuts time limit for benefits form
A sudden government move to cut the length of time benefit claimants have to fill in a lengthy medical questionnaire will make it harder for them to obtain the support they need, say campaigners. Disabled people claiming employment and support allowance […]
Relief over government’s Access to Work driving U-turn
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has rewritten rules that were making it harder for disabled people to use a key employment support scheme to find and keep work. The new rules had been highlighted by the Essex-based disabled people’s […]
Tube access ordeal raises new fears for London 2012
A disabled businessman was pulled off a tube carriage in his wheelchair and told the underground network was “not accessible to wheelchair-users”, just minutes after being helped onto the carriage by station staff. Adam Lotun had booked assistance through Transport for […]
Hate crime sentencing breakthrough
Disabled activists have welcomed a campaigning breakthrough after the government agreed to correct a major disparity in the sentencing of disability hate crime murders. Justice secretary Ken Clarke announced that the government would introduce amendments in the House of Lords to […]
Manchester police back under spotlight, after ignoring calls about dead man
A police force has been criticised by an independent watchdog for ignoring two phone calls expressing serious concerns about the health of a disabled man, who was later found dead. It is just the latest in a series of concerns over […]