The knighthood of Iain Duncan Smith MP, the architect of the controversial Universal Credit system, has sparked criticism.
During his time as the work and pensions secretary, Mr Duncan Smith was the central figure leading significant cuts to benefit and disability entitlements. In 2016, he quit after six years in the role in protest against further benefits cuts, calling them"indefensible".The petition, entitled"Iain Duncan-Smith [sic] should not receive a Knighthood", had received more than 86,000 signatures by 11.30pm on Saturday.
It was set up by Dr Mona Kamal Ahmed, an NHS psychiatrist who says she has frequently seen people with chronic mental illness experiencing panic attacks, from anxiety caused by the assessments claimants were put through and over potentially losing welfare payments.
"They have been directly linked to relapses of depression and anxiety and have even been linked to excess deaths through suicide," she said. "As a NHS psychiatrist I have sat in A&E departments with people diagnosed with chronic mental illness who have been driven to panic attacks, acute relapses of their depressive illness and suicidal ideation as a result of the anxiety caused by these tests and over the prospect of losing the welfare payments they rely on.
"This has only intensified with the chaos and uncertainty of Universal Credit, a system known to be causing hardship to millions and for which Iain Duncan-Smith is again wholly culpable."
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