Following publication of the final report on the UK from the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Amber Rudd said that Philip Alston was biased and did not do enough research. In response, Professor Alston said: “Rather than addressing the substance, the UK government has sought to distract from the troubling findings of this report by misrepresenting the process behind it. This is disappointing, if predictable.
"In addition to my 12 day visit at the invitation of the government, my report is based on months of preparation by me and my team, including more than 100 consultations, an analysis of over 300 submissions, and more than 100 citations to the government’s own data and that of renowned UK institutions.
"I traveled the country meeting with people in poverty, prominent researchers, and frontline staff at foodbanks and advice centres, many of whom said they wished the government would do the same. The government had an opportunity to review the report ahead of publication, yet made only eight minor changes. The UK is happy to use human rights to criticise other countries, but it must also reckon with its own human rights problems.”
* Read the report here
* UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/Pages/SRExtremePovertyIndex.aspx
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