AUCPB-UK CLASS STRUGGLE 18 APRIL

Cuts victims protest against Daily Mail lies

Disabled people and those struggling to find work in a jobless market have protested outside the Daily Mail offices to tell the right-wing newspaper to stop lying about them.
The demonstration on Thursday afternoon in Kensington, west London, called on the Mail to put an end to articles that protesters say defame people who need benefits to survive.
The ranks of protesters included people with disabilities, carers, parents, the unemployed and low-paid workers,
The event was part of the third national day of action against benefit cuts and the government's drive to force disabled people to undergo a work capability test run by private company Atos Origin.
The test has been heavily criticised by Citizens Advice, Child Poverty Action Group and other charities.
The campaigners argued the Mail had used Atos Origin's results to "mount a campaign against disabled people and people with illnesses" claiming incapacity benefit, which include headlines such as "76 per cent of those who say they're sick 'can work'."
Linda Burnip from Disabled People Against Cuts said: "The lies and half-truths that the Daily Mail has published have resulted in an increase of hate crime attacks against disabled people.
"We are not prepared to sit back and allow them to continue to peddle their disgusting disablist propaganda unchallenged."
She added that the Mail has led the propaganda campaign against the most vulnerable which has made these attacks on benefits possible.
A Mail spokesman said: "All we have done is reported what the government is saying.
"We have nothing against disabled people but have a duty to report Department of Work and Pensions policy."

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Atos Picketed, Daily Mail Mobbed and Invaded, Westminster Council Told
Protests took place around the country yesterday as part of the Third National Day of Action Against Benefit Cuts.

A demonstration of 100 people gathered outside the Daily Mail head office in Kensington demanding that they end the lies they print about disabled people and benefit claimants. Police initially prevented the protest happening outside the Mail’s entrance and demonstrators gathered opposite the front door of the Daily Mail Group on the other side of the building instead.

As the protest became increasingly angry it managed to move to it’s intended location where the microphone was passed round and impassioned and diverse expressions of contempt were aimed at the so called newspaper. The protest ended with mass chants of ‘fuck the Daily Mail’.

Protesters then moved onto to Westminster City Hall where over a hundred people shared food, made speeches and vowed to defy any attempts to criminalise rough sleeping and the handing out of food in parts of the borough.

The Daily Mail’s Scotland offices were also targeted with activists invading their offices to distribute information and tell the faceless hacks personally what they think of the Daily Mail’s abuse of disabled people. Prior to this the group has demonstrated outside the Glasgow offices of Atos Origin, the company responsible for health testing benefit claimants in an attempt to strip people of benefits.

Atos Origin were the focus of many protests around the country. Their testing centre Edinburgh was picketed whilst over 40 people protested outside their premises in Dundee. The protest at Atos’ Scotland Head Office in Livingston turned out to be a red herring, with a large police presence arriving to discover everyone had gone to Dundee instead.

In Brighton the Computer Says No play was performed outside Atos offices to an enthusiastic crowd and heavy police presence. Liverpool and Leeds both saw demonstrations outside Atos, organised by local Solidarity Federation branches and the Black Triangle Anti Defamation Camapign.

An early morning demonstration in Islington saw a crowd gather outside the North London Atos testing centre, and demonstrations also took place outside Atos in Bristol as well as in Burnley, Poole and Truro town centres.

The Armchair Army, Virtual Resistance and Troll A Tory ensured that those unable to attend protests in person could make their feelings heard. Hundreds of online activists wrote to MPs, media outlets or trolled Tory websites throughout the day.

Anti-benefit cuts camapaigners are now calling for escalation. A week of action against Atos Origin has been called beginning on May 9th. Watch this space for more details.

Source Indymedia

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