News

Outgoing employment minister Chris Grayling has been heckled in a parliamentary debate as he defended Government use of Atos Healthcare to carry out fitness to work assessments.

Mr Grayling, the new Justice Secretary following the Government reshuffle, faced shouts from the public gallery in Westminster Hall, an annex to the main Commons chamber.

Chairman of the session Philip Hollobone threatened to suspend the sitting after protesters in wheelchairs shouted "​shame on you"​ and "​people'​s lives are at stake"​. Interruptions were made twice and one woman was escorted from the room.

Mr Grayling did not respond directly to the claims but did defend the Government'​s policy to assess whether people were capable of work. He said: "​This is not an exact science. We will never create a system which is perfect."​

The 90-minute debate was called by Labour'​s Tom Greatrex, MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West.

Full story here: https://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5h44tVbutDnlIBzDhzqkV2YFOeYHA?docId=N0368171346723549021A

The debate, which B&​W members may find very interesting, can be viewed on the Parliament TV Player from the link below. The debate starts at around 1 Hour and 29 minutes into the sessions.

Debate regarding ATOS Healthcare'​s Performance