Family of man who starved to death get permission for judicial review

Errol Graham weighed just four-and-a-half stone when he died

PICTURED: Errol Graham (Family handout)

THE FAMILY of a man who weighed just four-and-a-half stone when he died after his benefits were stopped have won their fight for a judicial review.

Errol Graham, 57, was found starved to death at his council flat in Nottingham on 20 June 2018, eight months after his Employment Support Allowance and Housing Benefit had been stopped.

Graham, who was known to suffer from serious mental health issues, had failed to attend a fitness for work assessment before his benefits were terminated.

After failing to attend an appointment, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) were unable to get in contact with him and as a result stopped his benefits inline with their policy.

No efforts were made by the DWP to contact Graham’s family or his GP and his mental health was not considered or assessed.

Yesterday, Graham’s son’s partner, Alison Turner, was granted permission to a full judicial review into the legality of the DWP’s policies and its failure to review and revise them as promised at Graham’s inquest.

Turner has argued that the DWP’s termination of Graham’s benefits was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Equality Act.

“Errol had a long history of serious mental illness which left him severely incapacitated. When the circumstances of his death came to light we had hoped and from what the DWP stated at the inquest, we had expected that the department would review their safeguarding policies and involve us in that review. But, incredibly, that has not happened,” Turner said.

She added: “We deserve answers and those answers need to be public for the sake of other families and other vulnerable benefits claimants who suffer similar mental health difficulties.

“No one else should be put at risk in the same way Errol was because adequate safeguarding measures are not in place.”

When Graham’s body was discovered, his flat had no supply of gas or electricity and the only food in his home was two tins of fish that were five years out of date.

An inquest into Graham’s death found that losing his benefits was likely to have “caused huge distress”.

Following his death, a letter Graham had written to the DWP was found. In it he pleaded with the DWP to “please judge me fairly”.

Tessa Gregory, a lawyer at Leigh Day, the firm representing Graham’s family, said: “Our client believes that the DWP’s current safeguarding policies are not fit for purpose as they expose vulnerable individuals to a significant risk of harm, as was so tragically illustrated by Errol’s death.

“The DWP committed at Errol’s inquest to reviewing the applicable policies but two years after his death and one year after the inquest, nothing has changed.”

Comments Form

2 Comments

  1. | Sherri Hesbacker

    This is disgusting no one helped this poor man! Family and friends should of step in and give him food and water to survive on ! Dang he should of been check on periodically ! This is crazy if he didn’t show up I would think someone would of went to his place to check up on him ! This did not have to happen man omighty

    Reply

  2. | Chaka Artwell

    Mr. Errol Graham weighed just four-and-a-half stone when he died, a true victim the Rt Hon Theresa May’s Hostile Environment Policy.
    It is difficult to accept that in the 21st Century, England’s Civil Servants permits one of Her Majesty’s Subjects to starve to death.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*
*

Support The Voice

The Voice Newspaper is committed to celebrating black excellence, campaigning for positive change and informing the black community on important issues. Your financial contributions are essential to protect the future of the publication as we strive to help raise the profile of the black communities across the UK. Any size donation is welcome and we thank you for your continued support.

Support Sign-up