Mirror backs columnist who claimed ‘millions’ of disabled people were wrongly claiming benefits

A left-wing national newspaper has backed a veteran columnist who claimed that “millions” of disabled people were dishonestly claiming out-of-work disability benefits.

The column came just three days before a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary on disability benefits was described by disabled campaigners and allies as an “atrocity” and “shamefully inaccurate and prejudicial” (see separate story).

Paul Routledge, who is described by The Mirror as “a Fleet Street legend”, wrote on Friday that “millions of people who could, and should, be in work sign on for long-term sickness benefits”.

He also claimed that mental health was “the ‘bad back’ of the 21^st century” because it was “easy to self-diagnose, virtually impossible to disprove”.

He provided no evidence for either of his claims.

The column came two years after The Mirror launched its Disabled Britain series of articles by disabled writers – including Disability News Service editor John Pring – which was aimed at “showcasing the lives of disabled people and the issues important to us”.

Disabled journalist and author Rachel Charlton-Dailey, who edited Disabled Britain and subsequently wrote a series of columns for The Mirror, said she was “sickened” by Routledge’s column.

She said: “The media hostility towards disabled people has been an infuriating thing to try and combat as a freelance disabled journalist.

“However, I’m especially sickened by seasoned columnists using us as a punching bag when they should know better than to publish unsubstantiated lies about benefits claimants that can cause a lot of harm and add to the public’s distrust of us.

“I, not for the first time, feel like Disabled Britain was used as a pawn to redeem The Mirror for past harmful articles about disabled people and that they’ve learnt nothing from the meetings and guidelines that worked alongside Disabled Britain.”

Dr Natasha Hirst, the disabled president of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), who has frequently spoken out about discriminatory reporting in the media, said: “There are a multitude of barriers that prevent disabled people from accessing the labour market.

“The impact of long Covid, and lack of timely health services, plays a significant role, as well as negative attitudes from employers and lack of accessible transport and housing.

“The NUJ is calling on all publications and broadcasters to be proactive in changing the narrative on disability.

“We can’t be too cautious right now about how disability issues are portrayed and it’s important to provide enough space to do justice to the complex and nuanced issues affecting disabled people.”

Asked if the Mirror stood by Routledge’s column, or if it would apologise for the errors, un-evidenced claims, and disablist hostility, a spokesperson for the newspaper claimed the article was “appropriately nuanced”.

He said: “The Mirror has a proud track record of standing up for the rights of disabled people and campaigning for disability rights, including with our 2023 campaign Disabled Britain [Charlton-Dailey pointed out that the campaign was actually in 2022].

“While we always welcome a variety of views from our columnists, and believe that the column in question was appropriately nuanced and making an argument around the need for more good jobs in this country, we are very clear in our editorial position.

“We will continue to advocate for the rights of disabled people in our campaigning work and oppose discrimination in all forms.”

Routledge’s column was just the latest in a stream of articles and programmes in the mainstream media that have made un-evidenced, hostile claims about disabled people on out-of-work benefits in the last year, and it comes as the new government prepares its own reforms of the disability benefits system, which are set to be published in a green paper in the spring.

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