Errol Graham, 57, could not sustain himself which resulted in him dying of starvation in his own home after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wrongly stopped his out-of-work disability benefits
Errol Graham, 57, could not sustain himself which resulted in him dying of starvation in his own home after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wrongly stopped his out-of-work disability benefits Errol Graham, 57, could not sustain himself which resulted in him dying of starvation in his own home after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wrongly stopped his out-of-work disability benefits
The Tory government spent more than £50,000 of taxpayers’ money to try to prevent the release of a review ordered after a disabled man starved to death in his home.
The figures have been revealed after the Democracy for Sale newsletter requested details of the last government’s spending on attempts to prevent the release of information.
Errol Graham, 57, who suffered severe social anxiety had no income after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wrongly stopped his out-of-work disability benefits.
He then died of starvation in June 2018 and was found dead weighing a mere four and a half stone when bailiffs tried to evict him after failing to pay rent for seven months with damning safeguarding review conlcuding that opportunities to help him were missed.
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In a letter found at his home at a 15th-floor council flat in Nottingham which appeared to be aimed at the Jobcentre or a welfare official, he described going to bed hungry and being “overshadowed by depression” adding that he was “afraid to put heating on”.
He wrote: “I wish I could feel and function normally like anyone else but I find this very hard. I can’t say I have a typical day because some are good not many, clouded by very bad days.
“I get up as late as I can so that the day doesn’t seem too long. On a good day I open my curtains but mostly they stay shut.”
“I have come on my own today because I have been unable to share how I feel with anyone because I don’t think they would understand. It has made me ill having to come here today. It’s a very big ordeal for me.”
Mr Graham’s daughter-in-law Alison Turner cried as she read the heartbreaking note in a radio interview.
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Ms Turner said: “The government owes it to Errol, his family and the country to explain why the DWP has repeatedly failed to learn from these tragedies over many years.
“In Errol’s memory I am determined to fight for change so that no more families have to live through the horror we have.”
Nottingham City Adult Safeguarding Board referred to Eroll as “a man in acute mental distress who had shut himself away from the world ” stating that “tragically, the interventions by agencies added to his problems by cutting off vital services”.
Eroll’s Housing Benefit was paid directly to Nottingham City Homes (NCH) meaning that when his benefits were stopped, his rent was not paid. Furthermore, the 57-year-old had no heating or hot water through the winter.
In 2022, the Information Commissioner ordered the release of the results of the review which included Eroll’s case.
The DWP had been trying to keep it secret for two years but despite spending over £35,000 on solicitors as well as £15,400 on a barrister, the DWP’s appeal was dismissed.
The DWP has been approached for comment.
Mirror – Sport