Dear Sir/Madam,

We the undersigned are deeply angered and concerned with the way sick and disabled people are being portrayed by the press and wider media as well as the distinct lack of fair and accurate reporting in relation to disability benefits.

The use of defamatory language is being used in a totally irresponsible and callous manner by a steadily increasing number of newspapers and other media providers.

We believe that the press and the wider media are blatantly using this language as a means of labelling all disabled benefit claimants as ‘cheats’ and ‘scroungers’, yet most are genuine sick and disabled people who are in many instances unable to work and are asking for only the very basic levels of support.

Such support is in no way over generous as some newspapers are claiming with administrative error and miscalculations at 0.5%. In fact disability benefits like Disability Living Allowance have some of the lowest levels of fraud of all forms of social security benefits and it is estimated that billions remain unclaimed in benefits every year. A significant fact that news provider’s and even the coalition government are neglecting to inform the public.

We also believe that whilst many claimants are now being found fit for work through the use of new assessment processes, most often the press and wider media are shirking in their responsibility to report from both sides and about the large number of sick and disabled people who are being wrongfully found fit for work and who are later having those decisions overturned in their favour by a social security tribunal. They also fail to report on people found ‘fit for work’ by Atos Healthcare, the private health firm contracted to carry out work capability assessments on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. Those people then find that they cannot claim Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) because they are ‘unfit for work’ as deemed by the JSA qualifying criteria. These people often have to rely upon handouts and food parcels and become lost statistics unseen by the public.

The signatories of this letter are greatly concerned that the way the press and wider media are portraying sick and disabled people will continue to fuel a growing hatred and discrimination, adding to increasing reports of hate crime towards disabled people and the potential for suicides already being reported by some news providers.

Whilst we support the democratic idea of a free and open press we feel that they have a moral and social duty. We ask that they refrain from the use of language and/or defamatory terms which is fuelling the growing and unjust public hate and disdain of sick and disabled people and benefit claimants. We also ask that they honour and obligate to report all stories related to disability and disability benefits in a manner that best informs their readers and viewers which is balanced, accurate and fair.

Signed

(Signatures obtained over 8 day period)

Groups/Organisations and Selected Others

• Steven Preece, Founding Member, Social Welfare Union – (Letter Author)
• Gail Ward, Co-Founder, Social Welfare Union
• Debbie Jolly, Co-Founder, Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) – (Letter Co-Author)
• Linda Burnip, Co-Founder, Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) – (Letter Co-Author)
• Merry Cross, Disabled People Against Cut’s (DPAC)
• David Chowcat, Disabled People Against Cut’s (DPAC)
• John McArdle, Black Triangle Campaign – Anti-Defamation Campaign in Defence of Disability Rights
• Luke Sheldon, Boycott Workfare
• Izzy Koksal, Boycott Workfare
• Bill Scott, Manager, Inclusion Scotland
• Rosemary O’neill, CarerWatch
• Adam Lotun, Workplace Disability Adjustments
• Liz Potter, Derbyshire Anti-Cuts Campaign
• Ian. J. Lumsden, Guildford Liberal Democrats
• Linsay Bibby, Warrington Borough Council
• Norma Curran, Scottish Campaign for a Fair Society
• Peter Kelly, Director, The Poverty Alliance (Scotland)
• Iolanda Carneiro, Portsmouth Disability Forum, Disability Rights UK
• Annie Bishop, Northumberland Disability and Deaf Network
• Peter Rogers, Hear Us: Croydon’s Mental Health User Group
• Robert Battison, Founder, Democratic Reform Party
• Ian Pugh, Acting/Deputy Leader, Democratic Reform Party
• Jean Eveleigh, Treasurer & Membership Manager, Democratic Reform Party
• Dion Gibbs, People Social Freedom Movement (Party)
• Jean Cozens, Mental Health Resistance Network
• John Hargrave, Leicester Disabled Peoples Access Group
• Richard Lumb, Disabled People Against Cut’s (DPAC) (Cornwall)
• Caroline Richardson, Ouchtoo.org
• Alex Balcombe, Reach
• Lorraine Booth, Reach
• Sue Kennaway, Vale Royal Disability Services
• Louise Wallis, Respond – Learning Disability Charity
• Ben Golightly, Swansea Youth Fight for Jobs
• Charlotte Fielder MBE, Author ‘Shared Experiences’, Windsor
• Melanie-Elise Killian, Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation
• Teresa Catto-Smith, Act Now For Autism
• Pat Onions, Pat’s Petition, Braehead
• Samuel Miller, Disabiliy Rights Blogger
• Edward Mcgurk, Unite The Union, Huddersfield
• Sean McGovern, TUC Disabled Workers’ Committee Chairman
• Andy Stankard, Unison, Hull City Branch
• Sue Anderson, Unison, Wiltshire
• Terry Craven, Unite The Union 567(NW) Community Branch, Liverpool
• Pat Craven, Unite The Union 567(NW) Community Branch, Liverpool
• Jayne Sinden, National Union of Teachers (NUT), Dudley
• Paul Stygal, Communication Workers Union (CWU), Southend-on-Sea
• Roy Benjamin, Merton Centre for Independent Living, London
• Alex Raimi-Scott, UK Uncut Liverpool
• Rosemary Coates, Disability Hate Crime Network ( DHCN) Moderator
• Sarah Ismail, samedifference
• The Atos Stories Collective, London
• Steve McCue, Dyslexia Pathways
• Sue Jones, Autoimmune Illness Support Forum
• Nessie King, The Isadore Foundation CIC
• Susan Archibald, Archibald Foundation
• Helen M Brown, Post Polio Cafe, Kilmarnock
• Anna Preece, Cardiff Bipolar UK Support Group
• Penny Ledger, Co-Chair of Trustees, Disability Network Hounslow
• Lulu Hoosen Coovadia, Disability Network Hounslow
• Toby Morrison, Disabled Students’ Councillor, Coventry University Students’ Union
• Louis P. Burns, Upstate Renegade Productions
• John McDonnell MP for Hayes and Harlington
• Gordon McFadden, Policy Director, LimbCare
• Karen Warner, Learning Disability Wales
• John Dalrymple, Neighbourhood Networks
• Ian Sandeman, DLA Help Group, Basingstoke
• Steve Richardson, Richardson Training Consultancy LTD
• Sue Rogers, M.E. Welfare Benefits and Support Group
• Daryl Jones, Disabled Student Officer, NUS – NEC & Hull University
• Hannah Paterson, National Union of Students (NUS), Manchester
• Sarah Brittlebank, Mental Health Service, User Development Worker
• Richard Holmes, Go4M
• Mike LLywelyn Cox, Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People
• Lynn Harrison, Mental Health and The Wider Disability Movement
• Robin Macfarlane, British Senior Citizens Party
• Stewart Harding, Diverse Cymru
• Stephen Cruickshank, Renfrewshire Access Panel
• Caroline Sutton, Disability Rocks
• Andrew Dobson, MED Awareness Group
• Mark Rowe, Fire Brigades Union (FBU), Merseyside
• Andy Matthews, bipolar4all.co.uk
• Jennie Kermode, Trans Media Watch
• Kate Davies, KD Therapy, Derby
• Mark Brown, 1 in Four Magazine
• Simon McDougall, Liberal Democrat Councillor, Bognor Regis
• Katharine Quarmby, Author, Scapegoat: why we are failing disabled people
• Alasdair Sladen, Creative Support
• Kerry BakerThomas, Tydfil Autism Support Group
• Helen Watts, FM Support, S. E. Essex
• Gemma Lintin, Birmingham Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
• Emma Cook, Birmingham Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
• Linda Blount, Birmingham Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
• Ian Warner, Kittiwake Classics, Enfield
• Gary Stacey, Wessex Solidarity
• Maria Stewart, Norfolk Association of Disabled LGBT People
• Leo Arthur Capella, Disability/Neurodiversity Rights Campaigner, Essex
• Cheryl Risden, St Austell Fibro Friends, Cornwall

Individual Signatures

• A Gillmore, London
• A Kitney, St Margaret’s Hope
• Aaron Crowley, Uxbridge
• Aaron Sawyer, London
• Adrian Hindle, Chesterfield
• Adrian Moore, Kingsbridge
• Adrian Wilks, Sandbach, Cheshire
• Adrianne Sebastion-Scott, London
• Aiden Roberts, Liverpool
• Alan B Clark, Skelmorlie, Scotland
• Alan Fergus, Edinburgh
• Alan Mills, Basingstoke
• Alan Stanley Pavey, Kilve, Somerset
• Alan Vincent, Doncaster
• Alasdair Murray, London
• Alec Middleton, Birmingham
• Alex Panayotopoulos, Edinburgh
• Alexander Scott, Edinburgh
• Ali Newton, Leicester
• Alice Devaney, Tewkesbury
• Alice Grice, Hucknall
• Alice Mcnair, Leicester
• Alison Anne Godden, Hull
• Alison Batts, Worsop
• Alistair Craig, Glasgow
• Allan R Williamson, Manchester – “I’ve noticed a change in peoples’ attitude towards my disability”
• Alun Jones, London
• Amanda Brocklesby, Grimsby
• Amanda Burrows, Carlton, Nottingham
• Amanda Crompton, Exeter
• Amanda Farley, Basildon
• Amanda Matthews, Dyffryn Ardudwy, Gwyned
• Amy Wood, Edinburgh
• Ana Mattacks, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• Ana Moore, Belfast
• Anastasia Z, Glasgow
• Andrea Mccown,
• Andrew Cooper, Nottingham
• Andrew Manning, Basildon, Essex
• Andrew Mcdonald, Cardiff
• Andrew Paul Healey, Bolton
• Andrew Paul Matthews snr, Walsall
• Andrew Scott, Sunderland
• Andrew Sharp, Walthamstow, London
• Andy Bean, London
• Andy Cropper, Sheffield
• Andy Webber, Taunton, Somerset
• Angela Atha, Cleveland
• Angela Drane, Redditch, Worcestershire
• Angela Kennedy, Buckhurst Hill, Essex
• Ani Murr, Shropshire
• Ann Boyne, Liverpool
• Ann whitehurst, Stoke-on-Trent
• Ann Woods, Andover
• Ann Woods, Liverpool
• Anna McNally, Louth, Lincolnshire
• Anna Robertson, Fettercairn
• Anna Weeks, Bournemouth
• Anna Wood, Glasgow
• Anna-Rose Phipps, London
• Anne Bowditch, Bristol
• Anne Brian, Newbury
• Anne Brunelle, Durham
• Anne Cryer-Whitehead, Milton Keynes
• Anne Dickens, Thornton-Cleveleys
• Anne Friston, Edinburgh
• Anne Novis MBE, London
• Anne O’Donnell, Edinburgh
• Anne Oneill, Portrush
• Anne Ward, Wirral
• Anne White, Leicestershire
• Anne Wilson, Portsmouth
• Annette Ruth Gavin, Altrincham, Cheshire
• Ann-Marie Adams, Haddenham, Buckinghamshire
• Ann-Marie Lee, Leigh
• Anthony Adshead, Manchester
• Anthony Barry, Amlwch, Ynys Mon, Wales
• Anto Murray, Belfast
• Antony Fern, Newcastle-under-Lyme
• Anya-Nicola Darr, Budleigh, Salterton
• Arran Taylor, Woking
• Arthur Jordan, Dundee
• Arty Pye, Middleshire
• Arvind Ahir, Telford, Shropshire
• Athran De’Janta, Lowestoft
• B Rawsthorn, St. Helens
• Barbara Green, Sheffield
• Barbara Hulme, Manchester
• Barbara Smith, Wales
• Barry O’Toole, Liverpool
• Becky Clabburn, Norwich
• Ben Farrer, Halifax
• Ben Tresman, Southampton
• Benjamin James Baxter Corbet, Manchester
• Beryl Becket, Swinton, Greater Manchester
• Beverley Phillips, Birmingham
• Bill Cocks, Swindon
• Bill Hill, Edinburgh
• Bill Nuttall, Telford – “They never tell the awful stories of true benefit victims”
• Bob Collins, Birmingham – “This causes vulnerable members of our society untold hardship and misery”
• Bob MacDonald, Cardiff
• Bonita Quittenton, North Norfolk
• Brenda Gill, Southampton
• Brian F Kirkham, Salford
• Brian Knowles, New Forest
• Bruce Bingham, Manchester
• Bruce Wylie, Penrith
• C Adams, Bristol
• C Hyatt, Brighton
• C Tullock, Kirkwall
• Callum Bryant, Nottingham
• Calvin Smith, Swansea
• Carl Chambers, Chesterfield
• Carol Laula, Glasgow
• Carol Williams, Taunton – “Whats next for these poor people, the work house?”
• Carole Ann Holmes, Bexhill on Sea
• Carole Mathurin, Merton, London
• Carole Ridley, County Durham
• Caroline Jones, Norwich
• Caroline Seely, Wymondham
• Catherine Bligh, Cambridge
• Catherine Geladart, Gerrards Cross
• Cathy MacLennan, Kinlochleven, Argyll
• Cathy Patchett, Chesterfield
• Catrin Sherwin, Pickering
• Celia Bouquet, Exeter
• Celine Lecompte, Cardiff – “This is not journalism, it’s a witch hunt”
• Ceri Leigh, London
• Charles Britton, Colchester
• Charles Regan, Birmingham
• Cheryl Moncrieffe, Bexley, Kent
• Chloe Cook, Bournemouth
• Chris Bainbridge, Bury, Lancashire
• Chris Pearson, Dihewyd, Ceredigion
• Chrissie Bligh, Cambridge
• Chrissie Fryde, Cambridge
• Christabel Edwards, Belvedere
• Christina Sosseh, Milton Keynes
• Christine Hathaway-Coley, Aberdeenshire
• Christine Hubbard, Sheffield
• Christine McCabe, Amnesty International Member (UK), Cambridge
• Christine Mckenna, North Lanarkshire
• Christopher Hoggins, St Leonards on Sea
• Christopher Ingram, Merseyside
• Christopher Lennon, Tyne and Wear
• Christopher Wintle, Sheffield
• CJ Gordon, Surrey
• Claire Benjamin, London
• Claire Edwards, Dawlish Warren, Devon
• Claire Edwards, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
• Claire Gibbons, Shipley, West Yorkshire
• Claire Smith, Norwich, Norfolk
• Clint Stanley, Ely, Cambridgeshire
• Colin Day, Brentwood
• Craig Dickens, Cannock
• Craig Morris, Cardiff
• Cris H, Isle of Wight
• Cristiano Di Carlo, Southampton – “Disabled ex- serviceman recently put through the humiliation of an ATOS medical”
• Cynthia Phillips, Swansea
• D Rosier, Walworth
• Damian Robinson, Warrington
• Daniel Henry, Burton-upon-Trent
• Danielle Heybroek, Manchester
• Danka Gordon, London
• Darren Bartlett, Sheldon, Birmingham
• Darren Jones, Glasgow
• Darren Lynch, Preston
• Dave Ainslie, Lowestoft
• Dave Bessant, Leeds
• Dave Davis, Ellesmere Port
• Dave Lee, Leominster
• Dave Matthews, Nottingham
• Dave McKinnon, Tyne and Wear
• Dave Rendle, Cardigan
• David Alan Shaw, Swindon – “Simply cannot tar everyone with the same brush”
• David Birdsall, Teeside
• David Burgess, Arley
• David Gilmour, Edinburgh
• David Golledge, Arbroath
• David Hare, St Andrews
• David Indge, Norwich
• David Jones, Morriston
• David Mccrae, Kilmarnock
• David Mullen, London
• David Robertson, Glasgow
• David Stell, Northumberland
• David-John Pitts, Edinburgh
• Dawn Chudleigh, Swansea
• Dawn Mckenna, Luton
• Dawn Walker-Gerrard, Campaigner for Dementia Carers’, Doncaster
• Dawn Willis, Mental Health Campaigner, Devon
• Dayna McCleery, Clinton
• Dean Harrison, Lancaster
• Dean Simons, Norwich, Norfolk
• Dean Wales, Bury St Edmunds
• Debbie A L Banks, London
• Debbie Marshall, Hull
• Debbie Sayers, Member of the Spartacus Community, Cornwall
• Deborah Casson, Sheffield
• Deborah Davidson, Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire
• Deborah Doble, Bristol
• Deborah Mahmoudieh, Sheffield
• Deborah O’Neill, Ashford, Kent
• Deborah Ritchie, Birmingham – “I work, pay taxes, walk down the street and get mocked”
• Deborah Webber, Port Talbot, South Wales
• Debra Wesley, Chesterfield
• Dee Levy, Swindon
• Dee Welch, Brighton & Hove
• Dennis Sprigg, Worksop ,Nottinghams
• Derek Robinson, Swindon
• Desmond Wrafter, Doncaster
• Diana Dupree, Bury St Edmunds
• Diane Benjamin, London
• Diane Edmonds, Grimsby – “We are meant to live in an equal and caring society”
• Diane Williams, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire
• DJ Walker, Hull – “I have been Spat at in the streets and called names”
• Dolly Sen, London
• Don Harrison, Cambridge
• Donna Aston, County Durham
• Donna Norris, Edinburgh
• Douglas Morton, Glasgow
• Dr A J Winser, Nottingham
• Dr John Foster, Hertford
• Dr Lynn Hancock, Liverpool
• DreamDraigon Designs, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire
• Drew Walker, London
• Dugald Ferguson, Norwich
• Duncan Brown, Glasgow
• Ebony Dawn Marsh, Edinburgh – “Not content with causing rise in disability hate crime by headlines alone, they now campaign for it”
• Eddie Harrison, Perth
• Eileen Russell, Liverpool
• Elaine Birch, Sutton Coldfield
• Elaine Edwards, Haverfordwest
• Elaine Tilby, London
• Eleanor Leigh, Stockport
• Eleanor Woyen, Hull
• Elinor Stewart, Edinburgh
• Elizabeth Clay, Sheffield
• Elizabeth Dobson, Todmorden
• Elizabeth Hansbury, Sleaford, Lincolnshire
• Elizabeth Lamb, St Helens, Merseyside
• Elizabeth Worsley, Hope Valley, Derbyshire
• Elizabeth Wright, Leeds
• Ella Woolley, Gillingham, Kent
• Elliot Porter, Glasgow
• Elly Metcalfe, Chesham
• Elouise Summers, London
• Elysabeth Mccaig-Scott, Bath
• Emma Hill, Bromley
• Emma Wilson, South Shields
• Emma-Lisa Hill, Fallin, Stirling
• Eric Day, Leicester
• Erik Zoha, Dundee
• Eve Morris, Edinburgh
• Ewan Innes, Glasgow
• Ewen McAleer, Glasgow
• Fallyn Spinks, Kirkcaldy
• Fiona Bruce, Herts
• Fiona Hill, Sutton Coldfield
• Fiona Shaw, Norwich – “How about some honest reporting?”
• Fiona-Jane Kelly, Southall, London
• Francis Xavier Gallagher, Stuartfield, Peterhead
• Frank Kirk, Chichester
• G. Pennington, Cumbria
• Gail Sharman, Norwich
• Garry Ellison, London
• Garry Thomas, Worthing, West-Sussex
• Gayle Edwards, Birmingham
• Gayle Mann, Glasgow
• Gemma Roulston, Redhill, Surrey
• George Morgan, Keynsham, Bristol
• George Petrie, Fife
• George Topping, London
• Gerald Smith, Guildford
• Geraldine Mitchell, Manchester
• Geraldine Preston, Stoke-on-Trent
• Gill Food, Swindon
• Gill Moore, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Gill Neeve, Alton, Hampshire
• Gill Thompson, York
• Gisele Nicolotti Marcoz, London
• Giuliano Vivaldi, Brighton
• Glenda Hudson, Birmingham
• Glyn Williams, Bala, Gwynedd, Wales
• Gordon Anderson, East Whitburn
• Gordon Jenkins, Durham
• GR Kelly, Denton, Manchester
• Graeme Slater, Middlesbrough
• Graham Askew, Amnesty International Member (UK), Cambridge
• Gregg Beratan, London
• Hana Rooke, London
• Hannah Kingsland, Orpington, Kent
• Hannah Rees, Morpeth, Northumberland
• Hanne Lee, Kingston-upon-Thames
• Hazel Midgley, Deeping St James
• Heather Ann Taylor-Nicholson, Penzance
• Helen Bryant, Reading
• Helen North, Eastleigh
• Helen Searle, Edinburgh
• Helen Simms, Bristol – “The media portrayal of disabled people is unfair and wrong”
• Helen Speight, North Shields
• Helen Trick, Lewisham
• Hollie-Lianne Williams, Manchester
• Holly Wilson, Leominster
• Iain Macfiain, Edinburgh
• Ian Cropton, Stevenage
• Ian Foster, Brentford
• Ian Lockley, Brierley Hill, West Midlands
• Ian Marder, Leeds
• Ian McKnight, Belfast
• Ian Riach, Teesside
• Irene Burton, Aberdare
• Isabel Addie, Glasgow
• Ivor Williams, Swindon
• J. Hamill, Chorley, Lancashire
• Jackie Portman, Stourbridge
• Jacob Adams, London
• Jacqueline Holland, Dunkeld
• Jacqueline Thomas, Tredegar
• Jacqueline Welsh, Edinburgh
• Jade Kerr, Dumfries
• Jaki Rundle, Haverfordwest – “I used to believe the way people saw disabled people had improved, we have gone back to the dark ages”
• James Mathurin, London
• James Mullett, Lincoln
• James Wolfe, Norwich
• Jamie Ayers, Penrith, Cumbria
• Jan McGuigan, Partick
• Jan O’Malley, Arisaig
• Jan Wright, Dyffryn Ardudwy, Gwyned
• Jane Bromfield, Berkshire
• Jane Carnall, Edinburgh
• Jane Clifford, Narberth, Pembrokeshire
• Jane Crowe, Devizes,Wiltshire
• Jane Nelson, Birmingham
• Jane Redican, Denbighshire
• Jane Reynolds, Abertridwr
• Jane Wuster, Hove
• Jane-Dora Fraser, Leeds
• Janette Scharenborg, Llanelli
• Janis Dick, Glasgow
• Janis Green, Blackpool – “It makes Disabled people afraid to go out”
• Jay Astarte, Halton, Lancaster
• Jayne Gowland, Weardale, County Durham
• Jayne Linney, Leicester
• Jayne Smithson, Worksop – “Society should protect those less able to care [for] themselves”
• Jean Mace, Nottinghamshire
• Jean Murrell, Westleton, Suffolk
• Jean Watson, Bedford
• Jeanette Plester, Coventry, West Midlands
• Jeannette Cripps, Berkshire
• Jeff Myers, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• Jeffrey Davies, Neath
• Jemma Nicholls, Nr Lostwithiel
• Jen Turrall, Kent
• Jennifer Lambert, Badingham, Suffolk
• Jennifer Lavis, Arbroath
• Jennifer Mein, Newport
• Jennifer Taylor, Kings Lynn
• Jennifer Woolliscroft, Greater Manchester
• Jill Smith, Lincolnshire
• Jill Sullivan, London
• Jillian Morland-Duff, Liverpool
• Jim D Smith, Bromsgrove, Redditch
• Jo Aaron, Cardiff
• Jo Clancy, Cardiff
• Jo Walker, Northumberland
• Jo Watkins, Sheffield
• Jo Woodrow, Deal, Kent
• Joan Anthony, Lindon
• Joanna Mackwell, Bingley, West Yorkshire
• Joanna Redmond, Nottingham
• Joanne Curtis-Monk, Preston
• Joanne Dollimore, Sittingbourne, Kent
• Joanne Hilton, Warwickshire
• Joanne Yates, Edinburgh
• Joe Cassels, Saxmundham
• Joel Shea, London
• John Broggio, Birmingham
• John C Thomson, Edinburgh
• John Collings, London
• John Credland, Little Weighton
• John House, Hackney, London
• John Moore, Maynooth, Co.kildare, Ireland
• John.W.Slade, London
• Johnny Void, London
• Jonathan Eyre, Leeds
• Jonathan Marsh, Dover
• Jonathan Swift, Leicester
• Jonathan Ward, Bedale
• Josie Jay, Alton, Hampshire
• Joy Bean, Bromley
• Judith Pettigrew, Bristol
• Julie Carwardine, Caerphilly
• Julie Frid, Stone, Staffordshire
• Julie Harper, London
• Julie Phillips, Peterborough
• Julie Ricketts, Hackney, London
• Julie Routley, Carmarthen
• June Heaney, Bangor
• Justin Edwards, Stirling – “As if they don’t already feel isolated enough”
• Justine Ainsworth, Manchester
• K Blount, Plymouth
• K Rubins, London – “The recent media potrayal of the disabled is quite disturbing and sickening”
• K. Mamm, Cleveland, N. E. England
• K. Tanswell, Cheltenham
• Karen Alexander, Bodorgan, Anglesey
• Karen Atkinson. Worthing
• Karen Bester, Belfast
• Karen Brown, Morpeth, Northumberland
• Karen Crossley, Warsop, Nottinghamshire
• Karen Daniels, Hull
• Karen Golden, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• Karen Gray, Llanilltud Fawr
• Karen Lennon, Northampton
• Karen Prince, Edinburgh
• Karen Simpson, Derby
• Karen Willis, Norwich
• Kate Rigby, Devon
• Katherine Demeter, Bristol
• Katherine Fox, Norfolk
• Katherine Reid, Gateshead – “It’s disgusting. People don’t choose to be disabled”
• Kathleen Burley, Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Kathy Baguley, Brighton
• Kathy Jagger, Glasgow
• Kathy Richards, Swansea
• Katie Blythe, Faversham, Kent
• Katie Lightfoot, Northwich
• Katy Board, Ceredigion, Wales
• Kaye Lewis, Cambridge
• Kayla Lowes, Shepton Mallet
• Keith Jennings, Benfleet
• Keith Lindsay-Cameron, Peasedown St John, Bath
• Keith Oxborough, Portsmouth
• Keith Seddon, Watford
• Kelly Rose, Lancaster
• Kelly Salt, Walsall
• Kelvin Kent, Taunton
• Ken G Laidlaw, Smethwick, West Midlands
• Kenny Fryde, Cambridge
• Kev Towner, Hastings
• Kevin Green, Kirkcaldy
• Kevin Longmore, Sheffield
• Kevin Mcdonald, Cardiff
• Kevin Smith, Poole
• Kevin Watkins, Swindon
• Kim Burns, Wolverhampton
• Kirsty Birkner, Glasgow
• Krystie Lennon, Tyne and Wear
• Kyla Manners, Brighton
• Kyron Hodgetts, Cradley Heath
• L Jones, Herts
• L. Boyes, Kennoway, Fife
• Lara Cobden, Norfolk
• Laraine Frederick, Hove
• Laura Evans, Portsmouth, Hampshire
• Laura Henretty, Edinburgh
• Laura Walker, Sheffield
• Laura Whitefield, Ayr
• Laurel Duut, Suffolk
• Lauren Greyson, Devon
• Lauretta Pearson, Oakham
• Leandra Carswell, Devon
• Lee Kennedy, London
• Leigh Boyle, Dundee
• Lena Thane-Clarke, Lancaster
• Leon Carter, Havant, Hampshire – “The media is causing serious harm to those less able to defend themselves”
• Leonie Reed, Liverpool
• Les Crompton, Portsmouth
• Lesley Crosby, Tyne and Wear
• Lesley Farmer, Taplow, Buckinghamshire
• Lesley Roberts, Newport, Shropshire
• Lesley Sharkey, Renfrewshire
• Leslie Marsh, Douglas, Lanarkshire
• Liam Smith, York
• Liane Gomersall, Lincolnshire
• Lillian Hunter, Leven
• Linda Bellos, Norwich
• Linda D, Sheffield – “Hard enough as it is to cope with a disability without the appalling media coverage”
• Linda Jones, Wolverhampton
• Linda Murray, Glasgow
• Linda Pugh, StAlbans
• Linda Steers, Milton Keynes
• Linda Winters, Glasgow
• Lindsay Lee, Cambridge
• Lisa Buckley, Liverpool
• Lisa Dillon, Chatham, Kent
• Lisa Dunn, Oxford
• Liz Brown, Lurgan, Craigavon, NI
• Liz Parker, Marple, Cheshire
• Liz Sannachan, Glasgow
• Lorna Campbell, South Norwood
• Lotte Holmes, Manchester
• Louise Fallon O’Hara, N.W. London
• Louise Gibson, Stafford
• Louise Nightingale, Liverpool
• Louise Rowan, Lancaster
• Louise Wallis, London
• Lucy Powell, Caerphilly
• Lydia Butler, London
• Lydia Duddington, Exeter
• Lydia Hendry, Glasgow
• Lyn Philips, Southampton
• Lynda Cakebread, Weston-Super-Mare
• Lynda Phillips, Mountain Ash
• Lyndsey Mckinnon, Leeds
• Lynn Higgs, Liverpool
• Lynn Huggins-Cooper, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Lynn Rhodes, Hayle, Cornwall
• Lynne Valentine, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear
• Lynne Wilkinson, Bexhill
• M Cairns, St Andrews
• M Rawsthorn, St Helens
• Madeleine O’Sullivan, Newark
• Madison Matthews, Dyffryn Ardudwy
• Malcolm Evison, Harrogate
• Manda Evans, London
• Mandy Edwards, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire
• Mandy Murphy, Manchester
• Margaret Loadwick, Rotherham
• Margaret Philip, Thelnetham, Suffolk
• Margaret Rooney, Bellshill
• Maria Doswell, Hampshire
• Marian Pearson, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Marianne Cash, Bridgend
• Marie Brown, Larbert, Scotland
• Marina Grey, Dumbarton
• Mark Binns, Stockport
• Mark Hyde, Oldham – “Dont tar us all with the same brush, disabled people are NOT scroungers!”
• Mark Romano, Swansea
• Mark Smithson, Worksop – “Enough is Enough!”
• Mark Turner, Tredegar
• Martin Arnold, Bristol
• Martin Cameron, Clybebank
• Martin Denny, Littlehampton
• Martin Fisher, Oldham
• Martin Hannaway, Ipswich
• Martin Hickman, Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire
• Martin Wilsher, Ipswich
• Mary Young, North Lanarkshire
• Marysia Wojtaszek, Central Scotland
• Matt Cole, Hereford
• Matt Phelan, Oxford
• Matthew Read, Bournmouth
• Matthew Wheatley, Edinburgh
• Maureen Taylor, Lampeter, Wales
• Maurice Fox, Norfolk
• Megan Radclyffe, London
• Melanie Pither, Reading
• Melissa Lee-Houghton, Blackburn
• Merry Cross, Reading
• Michael Gould, Hampshire
• Michael Harrison, Wrexham
• Michael Smart, Chesterfield
• Michelle Barnes, Rotherham
• Michelle Maher, Brighton
• Michelle Nicks, Exeter
• Mick Burns, Kingsteignton, Devon
• Mick Carruthers, Preston
• Mike Gargett, Stockton
• Mike Jones, London
• Mike Nightingale, Cardiff
• Mike Pennell, Burton-on-Trent
• Miles Curtis Watson, Littleport, Cambridgeshire
• Miles Gavin, Bakewell
• Moira Barrass, South Shields
• Moira Gillespie, Glasgow
• Monique Craine, Swansea – “Vulnerable people are made to feel like second class citizens”
• Morag Fraser, Edinburgh
• Morag Lewis, Cambridge
• Ms Lisa Smith, Guildford
• Naomi Garratt, Nottingham
• Natasha Long, London
• Natasha Smith, Sunderland
• Neil Anderson, Machynlleth
• Neil Dugmore, Newport, Gwent, South Wales
• Neil Gibbons, Shipley, West Yorkshire
• Neil Theakston, Waterlooville, Hampshire
• Neil Wilson, Inverness
• Neill Clark, Glasgow
• Nicholas Csergo, London
• Nick Adams, Birmingham
• Nicki Myers, Cambridge
• Nicola Goodchild, London
• Nicola Linney, Leicester
• Nicola Zussman, SE England
• Nik Morris, Brynmawr
• Noreen Akhtar, Citizen Advice Bureau/ Macmillan, Birmingham
• Norma Anderson, Elgin, Morayshire
• Norma Moran (British Passport Holder), Sydney, Australia
• Oliver Greene, Norwich
• Owen Meharry, Glasgow
• P Dellow, Eastbourne
• P Oldham, Hereford
• P Rawsthorn, St Helens
• Pam Lindgren (Former UK Citizen) “I am horrified that this is happening in the Country of my Birth”
• Pam Long, Cumbria
• Pamela Marshall, Lowestoft
• Pamela Whiting, Portsmouth
• Pat Bolton, Gateshead
• Patricia Mcarthur, Glasgow
• Patricia O’callaghan, Northampton
• Patricia Walker, Sheffield – “It is ignorant to say that all disabled people are scroungers and layabouts”
• Patricia Walker, Tywardreath, Par, Cornwall
• Patricia Wenborne, Stanford-Le-Hope
• Patrick James Ward, Dunfermline
• Paul Barnard, Gillingham, Kent
• Paul Dovey, London
• Paul Edwards, Dawlish Warren, Devon
• Paul Gillbanks, Glasgow
• Paul Hewitt, Knutsford
• Paul Hurwood, Kent
• Paul O’Sullivan, Lincoln
• Paul Taylforth, Accrington
• Paul Treloar, London
• Paul Tremble, BroadStairs
• Paul Warren, Bridgend
• Paula Allen, Lancashire
• Paula Hardy, Barry
• Penelope Thornton, Storrington
• Penny Mead, Harlow, Essex – “This one sided, inflammatory language has to stop”
• Pete Dixon, Green Party, Lincoln
• Peter Austin, Taunton
• Peter Clack, Swindon
• Peter Green, Preston
• Peter Kitney, St. Margaret’s Hope
• Peter Macdonald, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• Peter Robinson, Lewisham
• Peter Wilton, Derbyshire
• Petra Hoffmann, Glasgow
• Petra Muths, Street
• Phil McGladdery, St Anne’s
• Phil Pocknee, University Union, Hull
• Phil Stevens, London
• Phil Wilson, Hull
• Philip Howard, Thurrock
• Philip Todd, Stokesly
• Pru Davies, Glasgow
• R.M.Cairns, Edinburgh
• Rachael Kent, England
• Rachel Gallagher, Gravesend
• Rachel Silvester, Southampton
• Ralph Morgan, Abertillery
• Ray Goodwin, Welshpool
• Raymond Young, Edinburgh
• Rebecca Bootb, Aldridge
• Rebecca Norton, Bradford
• Rebecca Walsh, London
• Reid Manson, Norwich
• Richard Boorman, Maidstone
• Richard Carter-White, Portsmouth
• Richard Humphrey, Luton
• Richard Scott, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• Richard Stone, Newport
• Rob Marsh, Penarth
• Rob Smith, Keynsham, Somerset
• Robert Ellard, Tonbridge
• Robert Green, Preston
• Robert Lee, Herne Bay Kent
• Robert Marshall, South Woodham Ferrers, Essex
• Robyn Hunt, Edinburgh
• Roderick Millard, Trowbridge, Wiltshire
• Roger D Tew, Sheffield
• Roger Dudley, Troon, Camborne
• Roger Lucas, London
• Ron England, Liverpool
• Ron Graves, Birkenhead
• Rona Morris, Port Talbot
• Ronald Crumley, Loughborough
• Rosalyn Adams, Farnborough
• Rosamond Broad, Birmingham
• Rose Mairi Tognin, Glasgow
• Rosena McKeown, Glasgow
• Ross Allan, Glasgow
• Ross Cambell, Braintree, Essex
• Ross Flemington, Edinburgh
• Rowena Wells, Edinburgh
• Roy Leslie, Plymouth, Devon
• Russ Cowpet, Manchester
• Ruth Lewis, Greater Manchester
• Ryan Hebbs, London
• S Broomhall, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf
• S E Blake, Isle of Wight – “Try walking in our shoes for a day”
• S Harding, Conwy
• S Roberts, Wales
• S. Ashley Burns, Falkirk
• Sade Foley, Edinburgh
• Sally Heasman, Worthing
• Sam Sharman-Dunn, Leicester
• Sam Wodehouse, Largs, North Ayrshire
• Samantha Walshe, Telford
• Samantha Wright, Edinburgh
• Sana Gabriel, Northampton
• Sandie Lunn, Sandy, Bedfordshire
• Sandra Moore, Irlam, Salford, Greater Manchester
• Sandra Tucker, Preston
• Sandra Verrinder, Haywards Heath, West Sussex – “They are inciting disability hate”
• Sandy H Scott, County Durham
• Sandy Hay, Pembroke, Wales
• Sarah Carrick, Burton-on-Trent
• Sarah Dawson, Fetcham, Surrey
• Sarah Elliott, Bedford
• Sarah Hurley, Bristol
• Sarah Lynch, Bristol – “Media promoting blame on its most vulnerable is acting like bullies and thugs”
• Sarah McEvoy, Sheffield
• Sarah Thompson, Newton Abbot, Devon
• Sarah Welsh, East Anglia
• Sascha Humphrey, Deptford, London
• Satish, Hereford
• Scott Pattinson, Cruden Bay
• Scott Speirs, Kettering
• Sedley Bryden, Harrow
• Shabaaz Mohammed, Manchester
• Shar Matsell, Grantham
• Sharon Cooper, Preston
• Sharon Herrington, Beightin
• Sharon Hingley, Walsall
• Sharon Root, East Malling, Kent
• Sheenagh Lee, London
• Shirley Ansley, Hassocks, West Sussex
• Shirley Lowe, Manchester
• Shivani Shah, Leicester
• Shona Hepburn, Kennoway, Fife
• Simon Draper, Lincoln
• Simon Glover, London
• Simon Greenslade, Swansea
• Simon Hughes, Brampton
• Simon Price-Johnson, London
• Stella Hawker, Margate
• Stella Meacham, Dundee – “The bias in reporting is so shocking its not news, its propaganda”
• Stephanie McMorran, Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Stephen Cruickshank, Paisley
• Stephen Martin-Hanley, Basingstoke
• Stephen Oxley, Doncaster
• Stephen Vickers, County Durham
• Steve Crawshaw, Colchester
• Steve Hawkins, Luton
• Steven Andrews, Doncaster
• Steven Hepburn, Kennoway, Fife
• Steven Houghton, Blackburn
• Steven Mann, Liverpool
• Stu Baker, Suffolk
• Sue Bowyer, Barry Island, Vale of Glamorgan
• Sue Campen, London
• Sue Elliott, Ely, Cambridgeshire – “Too scared to go out because of the attitude towards disabilities”
• Sue Ellis, Maldon, Essex
• Sue McCafferty, Manchester
• Sue Pearson, Edinburgh
• Sue Rees, Edinburgh
• Sue Tame, Devon
• Sue Taylor, Cheshire
• Susan Ashton, Liverpool
• Susan Atuisbest, Lancashire
• Susan Blair-Jordan, Colchester
• Susan Clelland, Glasgow
• Susan Johnstone, Carlisle
• Susan Marshall, Leeds – “[The] media should protect the most vulnerable in society”
• Susan Waller, Weston-super-mare
• Suzie Jones, Preston
• Sylvia Evans, Welshpool
• Tanya Marlow, Plymouth
• Tanya Simpson, Edinburgh
• Tanya Smith, Bromley
• Tanya Ward, Kent
• Tara Allan, Edinburgh
• Teddy Mcnabb, Northampton – “The mark of a civilised society is how it treats its vulnerable, a lot of civilising is required.”
• Terence Crago, St Austell
• Terree Selby, London
• Theresa Kelly, Plymouth,England
• Thom Bleasdale, Bideford – “My life has been destroyed by illness and now I am being accused of being a scrounger and a fraud”
• Tim Draper, South Wales
• Tina Lane, Southampton
• Tina Price-Johnson, Forest Hill, London
• Tina Smith, Hemel Hempstead
• Tom Robb, Woking
• Tom Walker, Liverpool
• Tommy Ewing, Liverpool
• Tommy Forsyth, Barnsley
• Tony Gaskell, Merseyside
• Tony Magee, Shepshed, Leicestershire
• Tony Martin, Leicester
• Tony Wyatt, Yeovil
• Tracey Bawden, Llanwrda
• Tracy Edwards, Tywyn, Gwynedd
• Tracy Mills, Thackley, Bradford
• Tracy Richards, Redditch
• Tracy Rockley, Norwich, Norfolk
• Trev Fairminer, Loughborough
• Trevor Burnip, Claverdon, Warwick
• Tricia Dickson, Dundee
• Trudy Saunders, Birmingham
• Uriel Emil, Cambridge
• V Evans, Exeter
• V Stocks, Manchester
• Val Hudson, Durham – “Disabled people are all made to look like scrounging feckless lay-abouts”
• Vanessa Haley, Huddersfield
• Vera Kubenz, Coventry
• Veronica Ward, Stoke on Trent
• Vicky Horvat, Cambridge
• Victoria May Hodgson, Tidworth
• Vilas Pankhania, Leicester
• Vilja Väisänen, Liverpool
• Vince Laws, Oulton, Norfolk
• Vivienne Roberts, London
• W Robinson, North East
• Walton Pantland, Glasgow
• Warren Brown, Barmouth
• Wayne A Layton, Rugeley, Staffordshire
• Wayne Jones, Bolton
• Wayne Morris, Port Talbot
• Wendy Redfern, Middleton, Manchester
• Wendy Wilson, Northampton
• Will Robinson, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• William Barnes, Merseyside
• Winifred Ashe, Belfast – “Is it not enough that disablement has ruined lives?”
• Yvette Broadhurst, Wolverhampton
• Zoe Hughes, Derby