An unemployed man who had not eaten for three days set fire to a job centre in order to get a hot meal in police custody, according to the Manchester Evening News.
An unemployed man who had not eaten for three days because his benefits had been stopped set fire to a job centre in order to get a hot meal in police custody, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Bee O’Brien, 49, set fire to the customer telephones at a jobcentre in Moss side after a row about his benefits.
O’Brien told police he would “commit a crime and get arrested. I need some food”.
According to the Evening News:
‘O’Brien, of Camelford Close, Hulme, admitted criminal damage, attempted arson, and using threatening words and behaviour when he appeared before Manchester magistrates.
Gina Clayton, defending, said: “His benefits had been stopped for some reason and he hadn’t eaten for three days. He was simply desperate for some food. He went to the job centre to get his payments and lost his temper.
“He was aware that if he was arrested he would have been given food at the police station.”’
O’Brien was given a 12 month community order and ordered to do 40 hours unpaid work.
Last month a disabled man took his own life after worrying about how he would manage once his benefits were stopped.
128 Responses to “Tory Britain: Man sets fire to job centre after not eating for three days”
Gen William Taggart
As John has stated this is a classic example of where two wrongs do not make a right.
I do understand the pressures upon the staff in the JCP. However pressures or not, ‘Just doing my job’ is no justification for basically telling peeps to go starve and die.
There really are no fail safes, as mentioned previously food banks only offer 3 days of food, 3 times a year. That is assuming you actually have somewhere to cook it.
The sanctioning system, in which previously you still received a percentage of your benefit whilst you challenged what was in around 85% of cases, unjust decisions. No longer exists, the Legislation still allows for partial sanctions, however many JCP staff are applying 100% sanctions for the most rediculous of reasons.
An example, if the claimant had a direction to apply for 10 jobs in two weeks, if they actually applied for 25 jobs in the first week and none in the second as they had exhausted the vacancies to apply for in the first week, a 100% sanction will be applied and that sanction is upheld in 95% of cases.
In this case the claimant has actually applied for 2.5 times the jobs required, but because they did not do this over the 2 weeks period (by which time some of the jobs may have already been taken). They lose 100% of their benefit.
Do peeps understand now just how difficult it is to comply to directions and how easy it is to get sanctioned.
Directions to apply for work, rarely take in to account the amount of jobs available, So peeps are having to apply for jobs which they are clearly not qualified for, Just to meet direction requirements.
It really is a ridiculous system, in which the staff in question, rule it with an Iron rod that is completely devoid of a single ounce of common sense.
In many cases they no longer deal with the claimants directly, instead the claimant is just handed a phone, at which point the member of staff very rarely even listens to the situation (even though by law they are supposed to).
Gen William Taggart
It is a tough call, with none of the grass roots parties really being in a position to present serious candidates until the 2020 election, we are left with a pretty bleak choice for 2015.
I don’t agree with what is essentially still Blue Labour, but to be honest the prospect of the Conservatives even forming another Coalition government scares me for the future of this country.
To be honest unless its via coalition, I do not see the Conservatives being able to form another Government in most peeps lifetimes, as everybody has been affected by the blight this coalition has placed upon the country with it mismanaged ill thought out schemes.
lynnieT
I am ashamed to read this. Its absolutely disgraceful. People starving, committing suicide, needing foodbanks, needing Save The Children to ask for £2 from people to feed OUR children. I cant understand why there have been no protest marches on London, apathy seems to be spreading. I am 63 but I would march. Whats wrong with people who are just accepting this totally unacceptable situation in this Country, in this 21st century with its rich government, bankers, companies etc…
Sparky
Think about this case for a moment.
If you really were starving and were willing to commit a crime in order to eat, then the obvious thing to do would be to steal food from a shop, not set fire to telephones. It is a ridiculous act. It guarantees a criminal record, making him even more unemployable, in exchange for just two or three meals, and does nothing to alter his benefit situation, all it’s done is create more problems. It is the act of an idiot. No wonder he hasn’t got a job.
Darren
And you most probably have a cushy job where you get paid a lot for doing very little while other people are starving because they don’t know the people to gift them such a job.