Vox Political: Labour MPs Asks Civil Service to Enquire into Benefit Deaths

Mike over at Vox Political has this story MP asks civil servant to check whether DWP to blame for benefit deaths – Disability News Service about the Labour MP, Debbie Abrahams, request to a senior civil servant to look into this issue. Mike’s article begins

A senior civil servant has been asked by an MP to examine whether any of the 49 secret reviews into benefit-related deaths concluded that the government had been partly to blame, writes John Pring for the Disability News Service.

The question came as Conservative employment minister Esther McVey was giving evidence to an inquiry into benefit sanctions policy.

Labour MP Debbie Abrahams, a member of the work and pensions committee that is conducting the inquiry, told McVey there was “an increasing… and a worrying number of deaths that are being associated with sanctions”.

McVey’s response was the usual government reply to anyone, who dares tell them the truth about their cruel, malicious and lethal policies: she lied, and told her opponent they were wrong to ‘politicise’ and ‘inflame’ the issue.

Mike’s article is at http://voxpoliticalonline.com/2015/02/07/mp-asks-civil-servant-to-check-whether-dwp-to-blame-for-benefit-deaths-disability-news-service/

DPAC also have a report on the incident, which I will also cover later today. This goes into some detail about McVey’s mendacious and highly evasive response to Abrahams’ questions. I’ve avoided blogging on it so far, as it annoyed me so much. So be warned – if you have any sense of fairness and compassion, McVey’s answers and general demeanour will send you through the roof.

Tags: Conservatives, Debbie Abrahams, Disability News Service, DPAC, Esther McVie, John Pring, Labour Party