The lies on the wall

   By Theo Russell


THIS GIANT poster on the Piccadilly Line platform at Earls Court underground station claims that the magnificent achievements of Paralympic athletes from around the world were only possible with the backing of 26 giant corporations.
 Ironically Atos, the global IT and health company, which is reviewing disability living allowance entitlements, is the most prominent.
 Two weeks ago a group of leading British Paralympians spoke out over the Government’s policy to scrap Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and said the benefits are vital to being able live independently.
 All the Paralympian athletes had to wear lanyards with Atos logos. Equestrian Natasha Baker, who won two gold medals at the Paralympics, said: "I have support from lottery fund but definitely, getting around would be a hell of a lot harder without DLA."
 And weightlifter Ali Jawad said: “The Government needs to sort it because a lot of people would suffer for not being eligible for mobility.”
 Further down the list is Dow Chemicals, which produced both napalm and Agent Orange, used in the Vietnam War, and owner of Union Carbide, responsible for the 1984 Bhopal disaster which killed 3,787 people.
 It is a lie and an insult to Paralympians and all those who backed and trained them to claim that their achievements were only possible with support from corporations like Atos and Dow – one of which is attacking disabled people’s rights, and the other responsible for inflicting disabilities on hundreds of thousands of people to this day.