13 March 2019

What: Asked about the death of Jodey Whiting in prime minister’s questions, Theresa May says: “It has been identified that there were mistakes in the handling of her case. The department has apologised for its failings, and is providing compensation for the family. That, of course, can never bring Ms Whiting back. The point that the honourable gentleman made is that we need to learn from this case, and that is why the department is looking at it to ensure that we never see such failings happening again and leading to such a tragic consequence.”

Why significant: The government again claims that it will learn lessons from a tragedy linked to DWP, suggesting again that Jodey’s death was a one-off rather than one of many deaths linked to welfare reform.