- He joined the army at 17;
- served for two years in Belfast, a lance corporal.
- After he left the army,
- he worked with BT for 16 years, then
- different jobs, but left
- to care full-time
- for his mother
- who had dementia.
- After she went into a home
- he looked for work,
- took two unpaid placements
- (he was denied a third)
- but his benefits were stopped
- when he missed an appointment at the Jobcentre.
- He was diabetic. Without support
- he couldn’t afford to eat
- or put credit
- on his electricity card
- to keep the fridge working
- where he kept his insulin.
- On the day he died
- of diabetic ketoacidosis
- he had three pounds forty-four pence,
- six tea bags, a tin
- of soup and a can of sardines
- (out of date),
- no food in his stomach,
- and a pile of CVs
- next to his body.
[The Daily Mirror, 27/07/2014, Killed by benefits cuts; The Guardian, 09/09/2014, David Clapson’s awful death was the result of grotesque government policies]