News

Remploy battle ‘could lead to occupation of factories’

Posted on 22. Dec, 2011 in News

Government decisions on the future of the remaining 54 Remploy sheltered factories could lead to strike action and even occupation of their workplaces by disabled people, MPs have heard.
The warning was issued by the Labour MP John McDonnell, who was taking part in a debate on the future of the factories.
McDonnell said the 54 factories [...]

Anger and shock over BBC’s ‘offensive’ welfare documentary

Posted on 07. Nov, 2011 in News

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 welfare reforms.
The BBC has received 136 complaints about the programme, of which “about 45” mentioned [...]

Commons faces legal threat after debate access anger

Posted on 07. Nov, 2011 in News

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 committee room in Westminster Hall – the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster – [...]

Thousands rally across the UK under Hardest Hit banner

Posted on 28. Oct, 2011 in News

Thousands of disabled people and other campaigners took part in a series of anti-cuts protests last weekend in more than a dozen towns and cities across the UK.
The rallies and marches took place under the banner of The Hardest Hit, the campaign organised by the UK Disabled People’s Council and members of the Disability Benefits [...]

Crown Prosecution Service to look again at abuse allegations failure

Posted on 26. Sep, 2011 in News

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is to investigate why it refused to prosecute any of the NHS staff accused of abusing 18 disabled people at a day centre.
The decision not to bring any charges over the alleged abuse at the Solar Centre in Doncaster was made just three days after the head of the CPS, [...]

Survivors of alleged day centre abuse receive NHS compensation

Posted on 12. Sep, 2011 in News

A health trust has agreed to pay compensation to at least three disabled people who were allegedly abused by staff at an NHS day centre.
The alleged abuse took place between 2005 and 2007 at Doncaster’s Solar Centre, in the grounds of St Catherine’s Hospital, and involved at least 18 adults with learning difficulties and high [...]

International Paralympic Day: Sir Philip calls for end to use of ‘disabled’

Posted on 12. Sep, 2011 in News

The British head of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has defended his suggestion that the 2012 Paralympics should be used as a stepping-stone towards stopping the use of the words “disabled” and “disability”.
Sir Philip Craven, the IPC president and a former Paralympian, first made his comments earlier this week in an interview with the BBC, [...]

BBC apologises for Top Gear’s parking bay gaff

Posted on 22. Aug, 2011 in News

The BBC has apologised “unreservedly” after presenters on the popular motoring show Top Gear were filmed parking in two accessible parking bays.
The episode aired (31 July) on BBC2 and featured presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May test-driving two electric vehicles.
At one point in the segment, they stopped in the carpark of a farm shop in [...]

BBC has ‘turned its back on disability’

Posted on 01. Aug, 2011 in News

The BBC has been accused of turning its back on reporting the crucial issues affecting disabled people, after admitting it will not be replacing its specialist disability news correspondent.
Geoff Adams-Spink, the BBC’s age and disability correspondent and one of the country’s leading disabled journalists, left the BBC in April to set up his own company.
But [...]

Silent threat of electric vehicles ‘must be curbed’