‘I was so hungry I drank my baby’s milk’: UN envoy hears harrowing tales of London’s poor during visit to Britain as austerity drives biggest rise in poverty since Thatcher era
- UN’s Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights on visit to UK
- Professor Philip Alston addressed packed out meeting in Newham, east London
- Disabled residents and domestic abuse survivors gave their accounts of poverty
Residents told an emotionally-charged United Nations meeting how they have been left homeless and hungry in the wake of stringent welfare cuts.
Professor Philip Alston, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, heard harrowing accounts from members of the public in Newham, east London.
The UN expert is on an official visit to the UK to examine what poverty exists in the country, its causes and the impact it has on people’s human rights.
Professor Philip Alston, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, is investigating poverty in the UK
At the meeting in Newham on Monday, Prof Alston heard from a West African mother how she had to wait for 20 hours outside social services after fleeing an abusive relationship, according to The Independent.
She said while waiting she was left so hungry she had to drink her child’s milk.
Another disabled man said he was fined for making a mistake on his universal credit application, and he heard how a new mother was placed in a hostel with her three-day-old son.
After hearing the witness statements Newham’s mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz, apologised ‘on behalf of myself as mayor of Newham and on behalf of the council.’
She told the meeting: ‘This treatment of our residents, regardless of their circumstances, their backgrounds, of how long they’ve been here, has to stop.’
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On his tour, Prof Alston is to speak to pressure groups, academics, trade unions, food bank organisers, and homelessness campaigners while visiting London, Cardiff, Oxford, Newcastle, Glasgow and Belfast.
He also paid a visit to the seaside village of Jaywick in Essex.
Despite its tiny size and a population of less than 5000 people, the village has become the ultimate symbol of decline, after finding itself at the centre of a furious row involving the US elections.
After hearing the witness statements Newham’s mayor, Rokhsana Fiaz, apologised ‘on behalf of myself as mayor of Newham and on behalf of the council’
The UN expert is on an official visit to the UK to examine what poverty exists in the country, its causes and the impact it has on people’s human rights
Groups went along to the meeting in Newham, east London to share the stories of the people they represent
An old image of Jawick Sands was used in the recent mid-term elections by an American political candidate to illustrate extreme poverty much to the anger of residents and local officials.
Prof Alston went to Jawick, a post-war settlement of bungalows once described as a shanty town just a mile from Clacton on Sea, and met senior members of Tendring District Council who have in recent years launced a number of multi-million pound improvement schemes for the seaside community.
Ian Davidson, the council’s chief executive, said Prof Alston wanted to see how authorities had come together to tackle the problems in Jaywick – his mandate was to look at things like the causes of poverty, such as welfare reform.
Residents in east London told the United Nations meeting how they have been left homeless and hungry in the wake of stringent welfare cuts
Mr Davidson said: ‘Jaywick Sands is interesting because it shows that the root cause of issues around deprivation stems from poor quality homes and a shortage of housing post-Second World War rather than anything more recent.
‘Tackling that and surrounding issues requires an approach much wider than we can do alone but that is why we are working with partners at county and national level to look at an holistic, long-term approach to improving quality of life for Jaywick Sands residents.’
Prof Alston will be holding a press conference on Friday, November 16 in London to announce the preliminary findings of his investigation into poverty in the UK.
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