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On one side, against a grey background, are the words: 'A very interesting book... a very important contribution to this whole debate' - Sir Stephen Timms, minister for social security and disability. On the other side, on white against a red background, are the words: 'The Department. How a Violent Government Bureaucracy Killed Hundreds and Hid the Evidence. plutobooks.com.'
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Deaths, lies and cover-ups: the case for a public inquiry into the ‘unthinkable cost’ of DWP’s systemic violence

By John Pring on December 20, 2024 Category: Investigations

Deaths, lies and cover-ups: the case for a public inquiry into the ‘unthinkable cost’ of DWP’s systemic violence

Senior civil servants and ministers spent more than a decade covering up evidence that links the actions of a government department with hundreds, and probably thousands, of deaths of disabled people who relied on the social security system. Documents secured through freedom of information requests, inquest reports, and investigations by bereaved family members show how the … [Read more...] about Deaths, lies and cover-ups: the case for a public inquiry into the ‘unthinkable cost’ of DWP’s systemic violence

Caxton House cover-up: How DWP destroyed files and prevented investigation into claimant’s suicide

By John Pring on June 13, 2024 Category: News

Caxton House cover-up: How DWP destroyed files and prevented investigation into claimant’s suicide

Official documents link two former Conservative work and pensions ministers – including would-be party leader Penny Mordaunt – to a government cover-up of how a disabled man took his own life after being wrongly found fit for work. The email and letter are part of a huge quantity of documents relating to the death of Michael O’Sullivan that have been drawn together over the … [Read more...] about Caxton House cover-up: How DWP destroyed files and prevented investigation into claimant’s suicide

DWP: The case for the prosecution

By John Pring on May 5, 2024 Category: Investigations, News

DWP: The case for the prosecution

First published by Disability News Service, December 2019 By John Pring   The first death was on New Year’s Eve 2011, a divorced woman in her early 50s who was found dead at her home in Scotland after taking her own life. She would later become known as Ms DE. She has never been publicly identified. In August 2013, Mark Wood starved to death at his home in … [Read more...] about DWP: The case for the prosecution

The Department for Work and Pensions: Deaths, cover-up, and a toxic 30-year legacy

By John Pring on April 9, 2024 Category: Investigations, News

The Department for Work and Pensions: Deaths, cover-up, and a toxic 30-year legacy

First published by Disability News Service, March 2022 By John Pring  Evidence stretching back more than a decade shows how the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) repeatedly ignored recommendations to improve the safety of its disability benefits assessment system, leading to countless avoidable deaths of disabled claimants. Other evidence shows how DWP ensured that key … [Read more...] about The Department for Work and Pensions: Deaths, cover-up, and a toxic 30-year legacy

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Front cover of The Department, showing a crinkled memo with the words 'Restricted - Policy. The Department. How a Violent Government Bureaucracy Killed Hundreds and Hid the Evidence. John Pring.' Next to the image is a red box with the following words in white: 'A very interesting book... a very important contribution to this whole debate' - Sir Stephen Timms, minister for social security and disability. plutobooks.com and the Pluto Press logo.

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  • Deaths, lies and cover-ups: the case for a public inquiry into the ‘unthinkable cost’ of DWP’s systemic violence
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