Apology requested
Representatives of Christian organisations have written to David Freud
Paul Parker, recording clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting was among the twelve senior representatives from churches and Christian organisations in the United Kingdom who, on 24 October, wrote to David Freud, minister for welfare reform, after he failed to ‘affirm that steps would be taken to ensure that the poor would no longer be misrepresented by the government’.
Eleven denominations and Christian organisations had originally written to David Cameron on 6 June expressing their ‘grave concern about a number of instances in the recent weeks where senior members of the government, including the chairman of the Conservative Party, have given misleading and inaccurate information about those on benefits’.
The prime minister had asked David Freud to reply on his behalf. The response received gave a brief summary of the government’s view of welfare reform but did not answer the original request for an apology.
Following receipt of David Freud’s reply, a letter on 24 October stated: ‘We do not wish to live in a society where personal responsibility is demanded of the vulnerable but is not required of those who exercise power. We are therefore asking you to revise your reply with this fundamental principle in mind.
All people are valued creations of God who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. An essential component of this is to be spoken of truthfully, including benefit claimants.’
