Outraged campaigners have attacked the home secretary’s latest refusal to halt the extradition of disabled computer hacker Gary McKinnon to the United States. Alan Johnson had been considering new evidence relating to McKinnon’s mental health, which suggested he was highly likely to try to kill himself if extradited. Johnson said he had “carefully considered” the [...]

Government proposals to offer free personal care at home to disabled people with the highest needs will probably lead to a squeeze on services for those with lower needs, say campaigners. Deep concerns emerged after the government published its new personal care at home bill, which would provide free care for the estimated 280,000 disabled [...]

The government has been unable to explain why it has performed a U-turn on cutting the number of commissioners appointed to the board of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Last week, the Government Equalities Office (GEO) announced the names of eight new commissioners, and two reappointed commissioners. They will join five other EHRC [...]

Political parties should be required by law to publish information on how many disabled people – and other under-represented groups – are selected to fight parliamentary seats, according to a Commons committee. The recommendation came in an interim report by the historic Speaker’s Conference, which aims to find ways to increase the number of disabled, [...]

The TV soap EastEnders has been recognised at an annual awards ceremony for its commitment to tackling mental health storylines realistically and sensitively. The award was one of six won by the BBC in the Mind Mental Health Media Awards, which mark the best radio and TV treatments of mental distress over the year. The [...]