UK government asked to publish review into case of Tim Salter, one of 60 investigations into suicides linked to benefit changes{jcomments on}
The sister of a partially sighted man who killed himself after his benefits were cut is calling on the UK government to publish details of its review into his case, one of 60 internal investigations of suicides linked to benefit changes it has carried out since 2012.
Linda Cooksey, 60, found the body of her brother, Tim Salter, 53, who was agoraphobic and suffered mental health problems, in his home in Stourbridge in September 2013. There was no food in his house, no money in his bank account, and in the dustbin she found a letter from a housing association threatening him with eviction.
A few months after his suicide, Staffordshire coroner Andrew Haigh ruled that a major factor in Salter’s death was that his state benefits had been “greatly reduced, leaving him almost destitute”.
Cooksey and her family are devastated by his death. He lived just 50 yards from her home, and she passes his house every day.
Read the full story in the Guardian
