July 2021
What: Families who lost loved ones in cases where the DWP has been implicated in their death, write to Therese Coffey to demand a public inquiry into deaths and serious harm linked to the benefits system. Three months later they will still not have received a response, and so will write again. The relatives are: Imogen Day, sister of Philippa Day (Philippa died in 2019) Leanne Dooley, daughter of Kevin Dooley (Kevin died in 2018) Joy Dove, mother of Jodey Whiting (Jodey died in 2017) Trudi Johnson, sister of Clive Johnson (Clive died in 2017) Alison Burton, wife of Errol Graham’s son (Errol died in 2018).
Why significant: This campaign is a change of heart for Rethink, which in 2019 had refused to back the Justice for Jodey petition, which made similar demands but which was also critical of DWP and described it as “not fit for purpose” and “institutionally disablist”, while calling for evidence of any criminal misconduct by civil servants and ministers to be passed to police and for the department to urgently change its policies and administration of social security benefits to make the safety of all claimants a priority.