Aidan (“my tweet has been misunderstood“) Burley may have done his bit to discomfort David Cameron recently, but his foolish tweets about the Olympic Games opening ceremony are as nothing compared to what the employment minister Chris Grayling has apparently been up to. The story is all about a Ministry of Justice courts service information video that helps people appealing against decisions to remove their disability and sickness benefit.
According to a report in the Guardian,
Emails and letters between Grayling and MoJ civil servants, seen by the Guardian, appear to show Grayling wanted to remove parts of the educational video, produced by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, giving advice on how to be more successful in the appeals process. Emails from the minister’s account complain about the video’s “tone” and “negative comments” towards the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) even though the sections in dispute were agreed to be factually true.
In The Courts Service video, which remains offline, the Guardian reports that
senior appeals doctor Jane Parry tells viewers: “Whatever the outcome of your appeal, we hope that you find the appeals process clear, impartial and fair … we will do our very best to help you.”
They may want to, but it seems that the Government would prefer they didn’t.
Enough said: George Wilkinson's blog 