When David Clapson’s body was found, a pile of CVs lay next to it, the fridge in which the former soldier kept the insulin for his diabetes was not working. His electricity had been cut off and the only food in his flat was a can of tomato soup, an expired tin of sardines, and six tea bags. His stomach was found to be empty in an autopsy in late July 2013. He had died of an acute lack of insulin a few weeks after the Jobcentre had cut off his benefits for not searching hard enough for work.

A month later, Mark Wood died at home in Oxfordshire, starving to death four months after his benefits were stopped. Wood had multiple mental health problems, and when he lost his supports his doctor wrote to the Jobcentre specifying that Wood was ‘extremely unwell and absolutely unfit for any work whatsoever,’ adding ‘please do not stop or reduce his benefits as this will have ongoing, significant impact on his mental health.’ The doctor stated that Wood ‘simply is not well enough to cope with this extra stress. His mental and medical condition is extremely serious.’ The Jobcentre were unable to say at the inquest whether the letter had been received.