Iain Duncan Smith heckled at Edinburgh speech ~ Edinburgh Evening News

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Work and Pensions minister Iain Duncan Smith was interrupted by protesters in Edinburgh. Picture: Getty

Work and Pensions minister Iain Duncan Smith was interrupted by protesters in Edinburgh. Picture: Getty

By Scott McNabb Published on Wednesday 27 March 2013 12:27          

THE UK minister behind the controversial bedroom tax was shouted down by protesters during a keynote speech in an upmarket Edinburgh hotel today. 

Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith was twice forced to call a halt to the address to charity leaders after demonstrators smuggled themselves into the event and caused disruption.

The Coalition Government minister has been at the centre of angry protests in recent months over the impact of the overhaul of the benefits system. It includes the bedroom tax which will see housing benefit cut for tenants with an empty bedroom in their homes, but has met with opposition from the SNP Government and council leaders in Scotland who will have to implement it.

The former Tory leader had been attempting to defend the shift towards a universal credit this morning. But he was silenced as he rose to speak in the George Hotel today by North Edinburgh anti-cuts Protestor Willie Black who shouted him down for several minutes before storming out.

A few minutes into the address he was then interrupted by two partially impaired protesters, Sasha Callaghan and Calum McKay, who stood up and began heckling the minister.

Mr McKay afterwards:

“I’m looking at losing my house, which means I’m looking at moving to a smaller place which means I’m going to spend large periods of time in hospital having a carer to take care of me in my house.”

Mr McKay who suffered two strokes and caught pneumonia relies on income support and disability living allowance which are being hit.

Ms Callaghan said:

“Nobody who is a disabled person deserves what’s happened to us at the moment – all that rhetoric calling us scroungers and skivers. That’s leading to so much disability hate crime.”

She said her 19-year-old son, who has learning difficulties, was being hit by cuts to the independent living allowance and claimed the reforms have led to a rise in disability hate crime.

She added:

“That man in there is responsible for some of the policies and rhetoric that is making people behave like this towards disabled people and actually we wanted to give him a little bit of his own medicine.”

Edinburgh Evening News

 

9 thoughts on “Iain Duncan Smith heckled at Edinburgh speech ~ Edinburgh Evening News

  1. tom leggit says:

    Article 25.

    (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

  2. jeffery davies says:

    the jackboot government man ids please go take your ideas with you never in all humanity has one like you and your erk has done so much damaged to our society jeff3

  3. robert robson says:

    this man IDS is a national disgrace him and the rest of the members of the ultra right wing nazi party and believe me they were in labour aswell under blair must leave britain and resign there positions i can tell you as a citizen of 49 years ive seen it all under thatcher it was bad but IDS has taken it a stage further are alll you little nazis coming out the closet now GOOD then lets get the people to get there hands on you next election the tory party will be slaughtered and the lib dems not much better for what there doing to the elderly the sick and the disabled get out of my country your not good enough to run a chimps tea party and NONE of you should be in office. clear….!!!!!!!

  4. James Gordon Jackson says:

    Sorry folks but it looks like to little to late as you have all sleepwalked into this new order.

    What is going on in the UK is what you have allowed to happen, even though you did not elect this coalition.

    The upcoming summer will indeed be interesting as one can see the ingredients have been ordered, the oven is on, the ingredients will be mixed, bake until summer and then you will see what i believe will be riots at such intensity never seen on UK shores,
    After all if you take away the last remnants of what a person is or has he or she has nothing to loose and that is indeed a security nightmare ready to unfold.

    Good luck you lot in the UK you are indeed going to need it a government you did not elect, a man who makes the Nazi party look like flower sellers, and the many in the UK who do not care or will not care….well the ones who do not or will not care may indeed be the ones about to have a life changing experience…it can happen as it has done to millions in the UK….

  5. nigel simmons says:

    BROKEN BRITISH POLITICS – SNOOPERS CHARTER
    Does Cameron and his cronies think that the Public are Naive ,they have been pushing the threat of Real Terrorism down our throats over the last couple of years so why now the Snoopers Charter .The Woolwich Killing has reignited Public Safety so do the Government think the Public are now in the mood to be more accepting of another move against our privacy .Under the Terrorism Act you can be kept in Custody for 28 days ,have a Closed Session in Court all on Snooping Evidence be locked away and the Public would’nt have a clue .Apparently the accused was Tortured while in Kenya with the Governments knowledge and they said nothing.The only Opposition Party in this Country at Present is part of the Coalition the Libdems they oppose the Tories more than Labour.
    http://brokenbritishpolitics.simplesite.com

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