The worst injured 7/7 terror attacks survivor has hit out at Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer – branding their disability cuts ‘lunacy’ that victimise the most vulnerable.
Dan Biddle, 46, lost both his legs, an eye and his spleen when a bomb went off on an Edgware Road Tube train nearly 20 years ago.
He was left with life-changing disabilities after 7/7 ringleader Mohammed Siddique Khan, 30, detonated his rucksack full of explosives next to him.
It means he understands all too well the difficulties faced by the 16 million disabled people in the UK and just how badly Labour’s cuts will impact them.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline Mr Biddle warned Starmer and Reeves’ plans had left millions terrified about what would happen.
And he questioned if the Government had thought beyond the headline-grabbing savings figure to how to actually get people back into work.
He said: ‘I was surprised at the Spring Statement, I thought that’s a very brash thing to say. Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer have gone after a group of people who can’t defend themselves. Where did the decision come from to attack this group of people?
‘Labour are scapegoating disabled people. It is all very well saying they want to cut £5billion off the benefit bill and people should be working. Disabled people want to work, it’s not a lack of capability that’s the problem, it’s a lack of people willing to employ them.
Dan Biddle, 43, is the worst injured survivor of the devastating 7/7 terror attacks in 2005
Rachel Reeves Spring Statement has struck fear into the hearts of disabled people in the UK
The announcement of the cuts sparked a number of protests in London from disabled people
‘Disabled people are frightened about what is going to happen to them.
‘There is a lot of fear right now about the cuts. It’s lunacy what the government is doing – they are trying to fix a problem with half a solution.
‘Disabled people are not looking for special treatment. It doesn’t feel like the government has spoken to any disabled people before it has done this. Politicians need to create opportunities for disabled people, not shut things down more for them.’
Married Mr Biddle, a freelance disability employment consultant, sustained his injuries after Khan killed himself and six commuters after their train left Edgware Road Tube station on July 7, 2005.
Three other terrorists also set off explosives in the capital, taking the death toll that day to 52.
The blast threw Mr Biddle out of the train but South African ex-soldier Adrian Heili saved his life.
His injuries left him in a wheelchair and suffering complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that once caused him to attempt to take his own life.
Every time there is a terror attack the trauma takes him back to the day he nearly lost his life.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government was accused of targeting the vulnerable
The wreck of the Number 30 double-decker bus is pictured in Tavistock Square in central London the day after 7/7
He said if he discloses his disability when he is applying for a job the application immediately stops.
Mr Biddle added: ‘I have no issue with the Government wanting people who can work being put back into work but you have got to get employers to employ disabled people.
‘I always thought Labour would be more about looking at the wealthier people paying their share. I thought they would support the most vulnerable in society – they haven’t really done that.
‘As a disabled person myself I can talk about lived experience of disability. It doesn’t feel like Labour have consulted anyone with that experience before making these cuts. I think there is a real lack of understanding of the most vulnerable in society.
‘You’ve only got to look at the House of Commons to see why that might be, there is not a huge amount of disabled representation there.’
Starmer and Reeves proudly unveiled their cuts last month in a divisive Spring Statement.
Slashes to welfare were predicted to save £4.8billion after ‘final adjustments’ by the Government.
Universal Credit’s health element will be cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants.
Changes made to PIP will create the largest proportion of savings, with The Resolution Foundation think tank estimating huge losses.
It could see between 800,000 and 1.2 million people in England and Wales losing support of between £4,200 and £6,300 per year by the end of the decade.
Mr Biddle added: ‘My thoughts when they announced this, was where is the substance behind it?
‘Access To Work is not fit for purpose, it can take up to 30 weeks for an application to be processed – no employer is going to want to wait that long.
‘And it doesn’t matter how much money they throw at Disability Employment Advisers or things like that, they’ve been around for years, the disability gap hasn’t really changed.
‘Labour need to speak to employers if they want disabled people to work – that’s the biggest problem.’
The Government is understood to be consulting on the future of Access to Work and on how it could be improved.
A DWP spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Protecting people in need is a principle we will never compromise on. That’s why the social security system will always be there for those with severe health conditions, and we will introduce a new premium for those who will never be able to work.
‘Our reforms will unlock work for sick and disabled people who can do so – backed by a £1 billion support offer to guarantee tailored help into work – while protecting those who cannot.’
