LEVESON INQUIRY:
CULTURE, PRACTICE
AND ETHICS OF THE PRESS
Dear Lord Justice Leveson
Re: Leveson inquiry response to the issue of the portrayal of disabled people in the press
I am writing to you as Chief Executive of Inclusion London – a pan London Deaf and disabled peoples organization- and on behalf of the undersigned to request clarification as to how your inquiry is responding to issues relating to the portrayal of disabled people by the press, and to request that time be given to enable disabled people to give oral evidence to the inquiry.
As detailed below in our email dated 8 May, and in our submission attached, we strongly believe this issue is of such importance to the estimated 12 million disabled people in this country that it demands a full examination by your inquiry.
Disabled people are being demonized by a press that persists in publishing inflammatory and wildly inaccurate and misleading reports about us, particularly in relation to disability benefit fraud.
This we believe is in turn fuelling a rise in disability hate crime and a general increase in hostility towards disabled people.
As can be seen in the submission copied below, we believe this issue is of relevance to all your modules and themes of inquiry.
In addition to module 1 issues, concerns over links between briefings by politicians, misuse of DWP statistics, and inflammatory headlines in the press regarding disabled people clearly fall under module 3.
Disabled people are amongst the most excluded and marginalized sections of our society and very rarely get any chance of ‘right to reply’ and redress.
Consequently,we believe it is all the more important that disabled people and their organizations should have the opportunity to give oral evidence, as has been possible for women’s groups, and would urge you to grant this.
Kind regards
Tracey Lazard: CEO Inclusion London
Katharine Quarmby: Journalist
John Pring: Disability News Service
Linda Burnip: Disabled People Against Cuts
Jaspal Dhani: CEO United Kingdom Disabled Peoples Council
Stephen Brookes: Coordinator – Disability Hate Crime Network
Tara Flood: CEO Alliance for Inclusive Education
Anne Novis
Eleanor Lisney: Sisters of Frida
Kirsten Hearn
Sue Marsh, Diary of a Benefit Scrounger
Tony Heaton: Chief Executive Shape
Bill Scott CEO Inclusion Scotland
Dr Stephen M Carty MB, ChB, MRCGP, DRCOG, Member and Medical Adviser, Black Triangle Campaign.
John McArdle: Black Triangle, Anti-Defamation Campaign In Defence of Disability Rights
Steven Preece: Social Welfare Union
Debbie Jolly
Maria Zedda: Wideaware.
http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Submission-by-Inclusion-London.pdf
This must be accepted. Disabled and vulnerable people who are willing to speak of their experience due to this governments shameful actions should be allowed to do so. This will only further strengthen the case that what has gone on in the media has been unlawful, and those responsible are in fact guilty and should face action because of it. How would it be if this was another form of discrimination ? The bullies and faceless cowards responsible for this situation need to be stopped, and creating legislation to prevent them via this inquiry is the way to stop them in their tracks.
Hi All. When Mr Clegg said his so called ”Nutter” Gaff, he put me in instant distress. a few years back a sertain first political padcas by a respected Newspaper portraid Gordon Brown as a ”Horrible spitting Looney, the type that sit’s on the bus and shout’s at you”. I did complain in writing but got no response. in a T.V. Programme a presenter was talking on a Bridge it was around Housing issues she said well I had better get it over with and indicated to jump over, she done this twice. On Question Time a sertain Baroness twice London and Glasgow if I remember right shouted out very loud ”They are a bunch of Nutters”. No one challenged her.
Leveson. should be in no doubt that if you have been on the recieving end of all this to the extent you have tried to jump off a bridge. there is no such thing as Indirect discrimination and ”STIGMA”. As it is so very personal when NationalMedia portray people this way Mud stick’s so does abusive discrimination on mass. Fuelling the fire of Hatred.
Paul.
LEVESON INQUIRY: dont worry everythings ok the prof said so so we all talkins shi– so should not be listened to ,you havent a chance as it will turn out that everything in the garden just needs a bit of watering ,i wouldnot trust him with my toilet paper let alone doing this inquiry .so nothing going to change just more money keeping someone who should now better jeff3
Still find ALL DISABLED ARE SCUM item very disturbing