DWP hides scores of emails that discussed its role in claimant deaths

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has refused to release all but a few words from scores of emails discussing its role in the deaths of hundreds, and probably thousands, of disabled benefit claimants.

The information was released to Disability News Service (DNS) after its request to see emails from the DWP communications team that mentioned DNS editor John Pring in the months after Labour’s general election victory in July 2024 and the publication of his book about the years of DWP deaths the following month*.

It took eight months for DWP to produce the heavily-redacted emails in response to his right of access request, and they were only released thanks to pro bono assistance from solicitors Mishcon de Reya and their senior data protection specialist, Jon Baines.

Among the subjects discussed in the redacted emails are the second inquest into the suicide of Jodey Whiting, the suicide of Krissi Hunt, and the death of a disabled man from Salisbury who died just weeks after DWP wrongly removed his disability benefits because he had failed to return a claim form.

In one DWP response to questions about the second Jodey Whiting inquest, three pages of redactions end with the line: “There is likely to be a lot of press interest given the legal hoops that the family have jumped through to get the second inquest, and DNS will be all over it as John PRING has worked closely with Joy DOVE throughout her campaigning.”

Attached to one email is a detailed “briefing pack” on calls for a public inquiry into deaths linked to DWP.

There are also pages of redacted emails relating to Pring’s book, The Department.

One DWP email requests a summary of the book, but that summary is also redacted.

In January 2025, two pages of emails are completely redacted as DWP communications staff discuss how to respond to questions from DNS about the department’s responsibility for hundreds, and probably thousands, of deaths of claimants, and how it covered up evidence of those deaths.

There are also pages of redacted emails relating to news stories about Access to Work cuts, which led to a DWP leak inquiry; a comment piece in The Times in which the prime minister referred to “worklessness as a lifestyle choice” and “the scandal of claiming benefits designed to support people with genuine illness or disability”; and an interview with Liz Kendall by the BBC’s Chris Mason about the legalisation of assisted suicide.

DNS will now seek to have much of the redacted material released by DWP.

A DWP spokesperson said yesterday (Wednesday): “All redactions were made in line with established Right of Access Request guidance to protect the personal information of another individual.

“Safeguarding is central to all we do, and we are strengthening our approach to ensure people who use our services get the right support.”

*The Department: How a Violent Government Bureaucracy Killed Hundreds and Hid the Evidence, Pring’s book on the years of deaths linked to DWP’s actions and failings, is published by Pluto Press

Picture: Krissi Hunt (left) and Jodey Whiting