Declan barred from the IT centre at The (Church of England) Connection

Last Friday Declan was barred from accessing the IT centre at The Connection at St. Martin-in-the-Fields (“St.Martin's”), which he had been using almost every day since the beginning of August to print copies of our CVs and requests for application forms and fight for the reinstatement of his joint claim for Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). The Connection is a Church of England homeless centre situated at St. Martin-in-the-Fields – one of the most famous non-cathedral churches in London. According to Wikipedia, St. Martin-in-the-Fields is “famous for its work with homeless people through The Connection at St Martin's which shares with The Vicar's Relief Fund the money raised each year by the BBC Radio 4 Appeal's Christmas appeal”.

On 28 April 2008, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, spoke at a special Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate the renewal of the church: in January 2006, work began on a £36 million renewal project; the Church of England got the money through public appeals and a grant of £15.35 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Anyway, you can read the Archbishop’s sermon on his website, but what interests us in particular is one of the notes which appears at the bottom of the sermon:

More specifically, among the many aspects of Christian ministry at St Martin's, there is a long tradition of caring for homeless people and those at risk of homelessness. This work continues with the Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields, formed in April 2003 from a merger between St Martin-in-the-Fields Social Care Unit (working with rough sleepers and other vulnerable homeless people) and the London Connection (which helped young homeless people).

Furthermore, the Connection website also explains that in its IT Centre (“the Workspace”) users can get job search support like CV preparation, internet search, etc. The webpage states: “Since 1990, the Workspace team has provided employment training and education support for homeless people, people in temporary accommodation and people at risk of becoming homeless.” Well, I am puzzled! For more than 2 1/2 years (from 3 November 2006 to 13 July 2009) we slept rough on the streets of London, having been put there by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) because Declan did not “sign on” two days before he was actually due to do so (see “About us”). Moreover, for the last three months the DWP has given us an absolute nightmare (see, for example, blog of 7 October “After a huge run-around, the Department for Work and Pensions denies me a Crisis Loan”).

Declan was also getting lunch at the Connection – although it costs about £1.50, there is always a queue because many homeless people are receiving benefits (we only received notification of the reinstatement of Declan's joint claim JSA on Saturday). We were also puzzled when on 19 August the Providence Row charity denied us access to food by effectively barring us from entering their Dellow Day Centre in the morning (a coffee in the afternoon is fine!). Declan lodged a formal complaint of discrimination against the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy with the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols (see here); having received nothing by way of reply, he took his complaint on 23 September to the Apostolic Nunciature to Great Britain, Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz (see here); and finally he wrote to Pope Benedict XVI (see here). Shortly after Declan wrote to the pope, the papal nuncio replied (see here) ... to zero effect!

Perhaps also revealing is that Declan and I have been barred from the Methodist Church Whitechapel Day Mission. On 18 June 2007, the minister’s wife barred us due to concerns about our safety following an unprovoked assault on me in the canteen by another homeless woman (crime reference no. 4217341/07; see blog of 18 June 2007 “Assault and bar in the Whitechapel Mission”). Despite that the Whitechapel Mission’s website states that homeless people are not barred or excluded and that Declan wrote by registered post to the minister himself and to the then head of the Methodist Church of Great Britain, Rev. Graham Carter, we were never readmitted.

For the record, this is the email that Declan sent last Saturday to the CEO of The Connection Colin Glover (the letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to which Declan refers is published here):

Subject: The Connection at St. Martin-in-the-Fields

Dear Mr. Glover,

I refer to the attached copy of my email of complaint of 15 October to your IT floor supervisor, Ms. Diana Cimpanu ("ComplaintCSTM(15.10.09)”), which I copied to you together with the attachment therein referred to, namely, my email letter of 7 October to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions The Rt. Hon. Yvette Cooper MP regarding the reinstatement of my joint claim for Jobseeker's Allowance (see attachment “Cooper(7.10.09)”).

I wish to confirm that yesterday I was denied access to computers and photocopier in the Connection at St. Martin's by your IT manager Bill (surname withheld), which I had been using since the beginning of August to access my Google Mail account (that is, when possible to do so, see attachment “ComplaintCSTM(15.10.09)”), print CVs and requests for application forms, and photocopying documentation relating to the reinstatement of my joint claim for Jobseeker's Allowance.

You will note that I am once again taking the time to copy the Chief Executive of Providence Row Jo Ansell into my current situation. As I mentioned in the aforementioned email of 15 October to Ms. Cimpanu, it was Ms. Ansell who, on 19 August, denied my wife and me access to food in the Dellow Day Centre run by the Sisters of Mercy in spite of our unstable circumstances (see attachment "Cooper(7.10.09)").

Perhaps you would be so kind as to forward this email and its attachments to the Justice of the Peace in the City of London Lady Diana Brittan, Chair of the Connection at St. Martin's. Ultimately, I will be lodging a formal complaint with the Archbishop of Canterbury His Grace Rowan Williams; by which time I expect to have an alternative contact address for Lady Justice Brittan.

Please would you acknowledge receipt.

Yours sincerely,
Declan Heavey

Email: dheavey@gmail.com

Home address:
83 Priory Gardens
London N6 5QU

cc Lady Diana Brittan, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Connection at St. Martin's
Lord Lloyd of Berwick, Master of the Salters' Company
His Excellency Most Rev. Faustino Sainz Muñoz, Apostolic Nunciature to Great Britain
His Grace Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster
Sr. Coirle McCarthy, Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Mercy
His Grace The Duke of Norfolk, Patron of Providence Row
Alderman Sir Michael Oliver, Vice President of Providence Row
Mr. Simon Bartley, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Providence Row
Ms. Jo Ansell, Chief Executive of Providence Row
Mr. Howard Sinclair, Chief Executive of Broadway Homelessness and Support
Superintendent Lorraine Cussen, Snow Hill Police Station

And this is the email that Declan sent last Thursday to the Workspace supervisor, Diana Cimpanu:

Subject: The Connection at St. Martin-in-the-Fields

Dear Ms. Cimpanu,

I refer to our conversations this morning and wish to reconfirm that between 11.15am and 12.00 noon I was unable to access my Google Mail account from the Connection at St. Martin's. I attach copy of my email letter of 7 October to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions The Rt. Hon. Yvette Cooper MP, to which I was unable to gain access.

I regret that I am unable to provide you with a list of the particular days and times I have experienced this anomaly at your day centre since the beginning of August. However, as I told you, this week it has been particularly bad and getting progressively worse; moreover, I have yet to hear another client of yours complain of any such difficulty. In future I will keep accurate and daily records of the time I spend on your computers and any difficulties I experience accessing the internet, for your future reference.

You will note that I am taking the time to copy the Chief Executive of Providence Row Jo Ansell into my current situation. As I have previously explained to you, it was Ms. Ansell who, on 19 August, denied my wife and me access to food in the Dellow Day Centre run by the Sisters of Mercy in spite of our unstable circumstances (see attachment "Cooper(7.10.09)"). I am also copying this email and attachment to, among others, the Justice of the Peace in the City of London Lady Diana Brittan, Chair of the Connection at St. Martin's c/o the Chief Executive of the Connection at St. Martin's Colin Glover at info@cstm.org.uk. (To compound our difficulties, we our in possession since 14 October of neither a tenancy agreement nor a rent book, despite our repeated requests from our live-in landlady for both items.)

Please would you acknowledge receipt.

Yours sincerely
Declan Heavey

Email: dheavey@gmail.com

Home address:
83 Priory Gardens
London N6 5QU

cc Lady Diana Brittan, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Connection at St. Martin's
Mr. Colin Glover, Chief Executive of the Connection at St Martin's
Lord Lloyd of Berwick, Master of the Salters' Company
His Excellency Most Rev. Faustino Sainz Muñoz, Apostolic Nunciature to Great Britain
His Grace Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster
Sr. Coirle McCarthy, Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Mercy
His Grace The Duke of Norfolk, Patron of Providence Row
Alderman Sir Michael Oliver, Vice President of Providence Row
Mr. Simon Bartley, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Providence Row
Ms. Jo Ansell, Chief Executive of Providence Row
Mr. Howard Sinclair, Chief Executive of Broadway Homelessness and Support
Superintendent Lorraine Cussen, Snow Hill Police Station

Letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

This morning, Declan wrote once again to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Yvette Cooper, about the difficulties we are experiencing trying to get the benefits we are entitled to - and this after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) unlawfully put us the street for more than 2 1/2 years. All is explained in letter below, but in sum, we are being paid half our benefit entitlement since 17 July because the DWP has effectively lost my National Insurance number and will not reissue me with another one. I should perhaps mention that in the previous blog I publish an Open Letter that Declan wrote to the Papal Nuncio in London, Rev. Faustino Sainz Muñoz, regarding his formal complaint of discrimination against the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy: on 19 August, the Providence Row charity run by the Sisters of Mercy denied us access to food! This is the email letter Declan just sent to Cooper:

Subject: Reinstatement of my joint claim for Jobseeker's Allowance

Dear Secretary of State,

I refer to previous correspondence, in particular my registered letters to you of 9 and 21 September. I attach copy of my complaint of 23 September that I lodged with His Excellency Most Rev. Faustino Sainz Muñoz, Apostolic Nunciature to Great Britain, against the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy for unlawful discrimination involving the Chief Executive of Providence Row, Mrs. Jo Ansell (see attachment “Complaint(23.9.09)”). The letter opens as follows:

On 19 August 2009, my wife and I were denied access to food in the Dellow Centre of Providence Row of the RC Diocese of Westminster because, according to a Providence Row letter of 18 August, our “room/flat” is deemed by the charity “to be stable accommodation”.

With regard to the reinstatement of my joint claim for Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) - which originally ran from July 2005 until it was terminated on 27 September 2006 because I did not "sign on" two days before I was due to so on 29 September 2006 - I reconfirm that Broadway Homelessness and Support ("Broadway") gathered on 31 July 2009 more specific details from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about my benefits claim of 17 July 2009. I was informed by Broadway that although my part of the claim had been processed (and £101.05 for the period 17 July to 30 July subsequently paid on 11 August), my wife's part of the claim has been suspended from the outset of the claim because the DWP has effectively lost her National Insurance Number (NINO), and consequently she needs to reissued a NINO before her part of the claim can be processed. (On 18 June 2008, I was robbed in the canteen of the Dellow Centre of all my and my wife's money and documents, crime reference no. 4215697/08; I was informed at Bow Road police station on 24 June 2008 that the case had been struck out due to the police being unable to obtain any CCTV footage whatsoever from Providence Row (see attachment "Ansell(25.6.08)").)

In numerous emails to the Chief Executive of Broadway, Mr. Howard Sinclair, which I copied to you for information, I pointed out that am also in receipt of a letter of 4 August from Haringey Council in respect of my claim for Housing Benefit, informing me that I must (a) tell them my wife's NINO and provide proof that it belongs to her by submitting a letter or form issued by the DWP, and (b) provide current proof of my wife's JSA by way of a recent letter from the DWP showing my current address. The Council advises in this letter that I must provide them with both of these proofs before 4 September or my claim for Housing Benefit may be suspended. We have subsequently received nothing in writing from Haringey Council to indicate that my claim for Housing Benefit remains open until the outcome of my joint claim JSA.

I can confirm that my wife has yet to be reissued the NINO - her initial appointment for 3 September at Camden NINO Jobcentre was cancelled due to "a regular clerical error", according to Broadway (see attachment "Broadway(8.9.09)"); she was subsequently interviewed on 10 September, but informed that it could take several weeks for the NINO to be reissued. Moreover, I understand that the DWP continue to be of no assistance to Broadway in providing the letter I am seeking that confirms that the payments of £128.60 I received on 18 August (for the period 31 July to 13 August) and 28 August (for the period 14 August to 27 August) are "hardship payments" for 2 persons - and not payments of my wife's JSA, which I only learnt from Broadway on 2 September is still suspended. I have repeatedly requested of Broadway that I be advised as to how long this letter will take to be processed and sent out. On 8 September, I received a reply from Mr. James Laurie for and on behalf of the charity, stating: "I will be in touch when I have heard back from the Jobcentre regarding the letter confirming hardship payments" (see attachment "Broadway(8.9.09)").

On 14 September, Broadway made inquiries of the DWP as to why my wife and I had received no benefit payment of any description from the DWP for the period 28 August to 10 September, but the DWP was unwilling to discuss my claim with them because they were not "sitting with the claimant" (see attachment "Broadway(14.9.09)"). I attended Broadway Head Office on 15 September to call the DWP to ask them whether the NINO had been allocated and where things stood with my claim. I was informed by the DWP that there was "no information" on my wife's NINO, and that £128.60 in payment of my JSA (not a hardship payment for 2 persons) would be lodged to our account later that day. Accordingly, my wife attended Broadway Head Office on 16 September to apply for her third Crisis Loan (our fourth in total) on top of the £230 we already owed the DWP in crisis loans since 20 July. She requested £40 for the period 16 September to 29 September (2 weeks), but was denied by the DWP because they did not have a NINO in her name. On 17 September, she again applied for a crisis loan, this time with both Broadway’s and my assistance, but was told that £128.60 was deemed by the DWP to be enough money for two people to survive on for a two-week period, the previous two crisis loans in her name of £70 (for the period 3 August to 16 August) and £20 (for the period 18 August to 24 August) notwithstanding.

We now have a very serious set of circumstances that may result in us being forced to return to sleeping rough at Salters' Hall. To further exacerbate the situation, I continue to be denied access to food in the Dellow Centre, despite my repeated protestations to the Archbishop of Westminster, His Grace Archbishop Vincent Nichols, and the Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Mercy, Sr. Coirle McCarthy, about our unstable circumstances. The DWP terminated our benefits in September 2006 because I did not sign up early enough – even though both my wife and I were doing so in a timely fashion; and I exhausted the appeals process from the street: my case was dismissed by the High Court (Judicial Review), Court of Appeal and European Court of Human Rights in spite of the fact that I was denied the internal appeal process by procedural impropriety on the part of the enforcement authority. That we are now dealing with a series of obvious "mistakes" (however deliberate), I cannot imagine what would motivate the authorities to repeatedly deny us benefits to which we are entitled.

You will note that I am taking the time to once again copy Superintendent Lorraine Cussen of Snow Hill Police Station into my current situation. As I mentioned in my registered letter to you of 9 September, it was Superintendent Cussen who, as the supervisory police officer who is overseeing Operation Poncho II within the City of London Police, suggested that I seek the assistance of Broadway (see attachment "Cussen(13.7.09)"). I am also copying this email and attachments to, among others, the former Law Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, Master of the Salters’ Company c/o the Clerk to the Salters’ Company at clerk@salters.co.uk.

Please would you acknowledge receipt.

Yours sincerely
Declan Heavey
NI no. -------------------

Email: dheavey@gmail.com

Home address:
83 Priory Gardens
London N6 5QU

cc Lord Lloyd of Berwick, Master of the Salters' Company
His Excellency Most Rev. Faustino Sainz Muñoz, Apostolic Nunciature to Great Britain
His Grace Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster
Sr. Coirle McCarthy, Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Mercy
His Grace The Duke of Norfolk, Patron of Providence Row
Alderman Sir Michael Oliver, Vice President of Providence Row
Mr. Simon Bartley, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Providence Row
Mrs. Jo Ansell, Chief Executive of Providence Row
Mr. Howard Sinclair, Chief Executive of Broadway Homelessness and Support
Superintendent Lorraine Cussen, Snow Hill Police Station

Letter to the CEO of Broadway on the seriousness of our situation

As I said in the previous blog, “The Department for Work and Pensions refuses to interview me this morning for a NINO”, Declan wrote yesterday to the CEO of Broadway Homelessness and Support, Howard Sinclair, who is assisting us in overcoming the various obstacles that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) continues to place in our way to stop us from getting the benefits we are entitled to - and this after putting us to the street for more than 2 1/2 years. His first email to Sinclair yesterday is presented below. It is the lead attachment to the email letter he has composed for leading human rights lawyers here in London; another attachment is a formal complaint Declan lodged against the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy on the grounds of unlawful discrimination (it can be read in the blog of 1 September “Declan lodges his complaint against the Sisters of Mercy”).

This letter to Sinclair is copied to, among others, the former Law Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, Master of the Salters’ Company. It was at the headquarters of the Salters’ Company that we slept for almost a year before gaining access to a roof over our heads on 13 July (see blog of 26 July “We are interviewed on The Real Deal”).

Salters’ Company describes itself as a company very largely devoted to charity which also plays an important part in the system of local government in the City of London. Well, they seem to think we are going back to the street: they have covered the porch we slept in from January in sand bags! It means we will be moving back to where we slept from September 2008 through to January: about twenty paces from their front entrance, down some twelve steps (see, for example, blog of 5 June “Salters back in the spotlight”).

Today is Declan’s birthday, which reminds me that this day last year we returned to the porch we had been using since 3 November 2006 only to find that … a trellis gate had been installed (see blog of 5 September 2008 “A trellis gate is installed in the porch”). Anyway, we are being given such a run around by the DWP that I still haven’t finished our feature of the month for September. Last month we featured the assassination of the abortion doctor George Tiller on 31 May, in the United States, in “An Abortion Battle, Fought to the Death”. This month, as part of our questioning the “war on terror”, I am featuring the long-gagged FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, who has finally testified in court under oath about some of the things that she learned while working for the bureau. This documentary, “Kill The Messenger”, will be included:



This is Declan’s email to Sinclair yesterday afternoon:

Subject: Broadway assistance in claiming Jobseeker's Allowance

Dear Mr. Sinclair,

Previous correspondence refers. I attach copy of a formal complaint that I lodged with Providence Row against the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy for unlawful discrimination involving the Chief Executive of Providence Row, Mrs. Jo Ansell (see attachment “Complaint(1.9.09)”). Paragraph 1 under the heading “Please outline your complaint” states as follows:

On 19 August 2009 my wife and I were denied access to food in the Dellow Centre of Providence Row in London because, according to a Providence Row letter of 18 August, our “room/flat” is deemed by the charity “to be stable accommodation” (see Supporting Documents, p. 14).

With regard to the reinstatement of my joint claim for Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) - which originally ran from July 2005 until it was terminated on 27 September 2006 because I did not "sign on" two days before I was due to so on 29 September 2006 - Broadway Homelessness and Support gathered on 31 July 2009 more specific details from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about my benefits claim of 17 July 2009. I was informed by the Broadway City Outreach team that although my part of the claim had been processed (and subsequently paid), my wife's part of the claim is currently suspended because the DWP has effectively lost her National Insurance Number (NINO), and consequently she needs to reissued a NINO before her part of the claim can be processed. (On 18 June 2008, I was robbed in the canteen of the Dellow Centre of all my and my wife's money and documents, crime reference no. 4215697/08; I was informed at Bow Road police station on 24 June 2008 that the case had been struck out due to the police being unable to obtain any CCTV footage whatsoever from Providence Row (see attachment "Ansell(25.6.08)").)

As first mentioned in my email to you of 6 August, I am also in receipt of a letter of 4 August from Haringey Council in respect of my claim for Housing Benefit, informing me that I must (a) tell them my wife's NINO and provide proof that it belongs to her by submitting a letter or form issued by the DWP, and (b) provide current proof of my wife's JSA by way of a recent letter from the DWP showing my current address. The Council advises that I must provide them with both of these proofs before 4 September or my claim for Housing Benefit may be suspended. We have subsequently received nothing in writing from Haringey Council to indicate that my claim for Housing Benefit remains open until the outcome of my joint claim JSA.

My wife has yet to be reissued the NINO, her initial appointment for 3 September at Camden NINO Jobcentre having been cancelled due to a clerical error. Moreover, I understand that Broadway Homelessness and Support will not be of assistance to me in acquiring from the DWP the letter I am seeking confirming that the payments of £128.60 I received on 18 August and 28 August are hardship payments for 2 persons - and not payments of my wife's JSA, which I only learnt from the Broadway City Outreach team yesterday is still suspended (see “Broadway(2.9.09)”).

My wife and I now have a very serious set of circumstances that may result in us being forced to return to sleeping rough at Salters' Hall. To exacerbate the situation, we continue to be denied access to food in the Dellow Centre, notwithstanding my repeated protestations to the Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Mercy, Sr. Coirle McCarthy, about our unstable circumstances (see attachment “Complaint(1.9.09)”). The DWP terminated our benefits in September 2006 because I did not sign up early enough – even though both my wife and I were doing so in a timely fashion; and I exhausted the appeals process: my case was dismissed by the High Court (Judicial Review), Court of Appeal and European Court of Human Rights, despite that I was denied the internal appeal process by procedural impropriety on the part of the enforcement authority. That we are now dealing with another obvious "mistake" (however deliberate), I cannot imagine what would motivate the authorities to deny my wife the NINO to which she is entitled.

You will note that I am taking the time to once again copy Superintendent Lorraine Cussen of Snow Hill Police Station into my current situation. As you are aware, it was Superintendent Cussen who, as the supervisory police officer who is overseeing Operation Poncho II within the City of London Police, suggested that I seek the assistance of Broadway Homelesssness and Support (see attachment "Cussen(13.7.09)"). I am also copying this email and attachments to, among others, the former Law Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, Master of the Salters’ Company c/o the Clerk to the Salters’ Company at clerk@salters.co.uk.

Please would you acknowledge receipt.

Yours sincerely
Declan Heavey

cc The Rt. Hon. Yvette Cooper MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Lord Lloyd of Berwick, Master of the Salters' Company
Sr. Coirle McCarthy, Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Mercy
His Grace Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster
His Grace The Duke of Norfolk, Patron of Providence Row
Alderman Sir Michael Oliver, Vice President of Providence Row
Mr. Simon Bartley, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Providence Row
Mrs. Jo Ansell, Chief Executive of Providence Row
Superintendent Lorraine Cussen, Snow Hill Police Station

Declan barred from the Dellow Centre

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Haringey Council making it as difficult as possible for us to get the benefits we are entitled to and already the Dellow Day Centre of Providence Row Charity run by the Sisters of Mercy is showing us the door! Declan was barred from the centre this morning (he has access in the afternoon for a cup of coffee!) and I will be too as soon as the DWP decides to lift the suspension on my Jobseeker’s Allowance (see previous blog dated 6 August “The Department for Work and Pensions is putting us back to the street”). It means Declan has now lost his breakfast and I have lost my lunch, since the cheese sandwich that the nuns give Declan with his cereal and three toast has been my lunch for many, many months.

Their website states: “With help from our supporters we continue to expand the range of services we have on offer at the Dellow Centre, enabling people to permanently break the cycles of homelessness and poverty” - that bit mustn’t apply to us, though. The reception manager didn’t agree with me either that a three-month lease subject to month’s notice at any time constitutes vulnerable accommodation. The Duke of Norfolk, the Patron of Providence Row, states in their Annual Report 2007-2008 that “the staff and volunteers at Providence Row follow their mission to help anyone who comes to them retain their dignity and health, and explore options for their future.” And just a bit below, one can read: “Helping clients find housing and accommodation remains a number one priority for us.” Well, I am puzzled.

Anyway, only last night I uploaded to the NAC website a new section in “What we do” called “Question the war on terror”; we feature on our homepage "Questioning the War on Terror" by Dr. Kevin Barrett, now the flagship of the site. Below is a video by award journalist John Pilger, which features in this new section. And below the video is a letter that Declan sent this afternoon to the CEO of Broadway Homelessness and Support, Howard Sinclair. Declan is once again copying the email to Superintendent Lorraine Cussen (see blog of 12 July “Police threaten us with physical force at the place we sleep, Salters”). In fact, as I said in the previous blog, Declan has an email from Superintendent Cussen, stating: “Thank you for taking the time to copy me into your current situation. I hope that Broadway have been able to assist you.”

"Breaking The Silence - Truth and Lies in the War on Terror" by John Pilger. Award-winning journalist John Pilger dissects the truth and lies in the "war on terror". Pilger investigates the discrepancies between American and British claims for the "war on terror" and the facts on the ground as he finds them in Afghanistan and Washington, DC. A Special Report (pdf) by John Pilger can be read at Bullfrog Films website.

And Declan’s email this afternoon to Sinclair:

Subject: Broadway assistance in claiming Jobseeker's Allowance

Dear Mr. Sinclair,

Previous correspondence refers. I reattach copy of my email of 14 May 2009 to the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, in his capacity as Archbishop of the Diocese of Westminster, to which belongs the Dellow Day Centre of Providence Row Charity run by the Sisters of Mercy. Paragraph 3(2) states as follows:

18 June 2008: I was robbed in the canteen of the Dellow Centre of all my and my wife's money and documents (crime reference no. 4215697/08); 24 June: I was informed at Bow Street police station that the case had been struck out due to the police being unable to obtain any CCTV footage whatsoever from Providence Row Charity.

With regard to the reinstatement of my joint claim for Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) - which originally ran from July 2005 until it was terminated on 27 September 2006 because I did not "sign on" two days before I was due to so on 29 September - Broadway Homelessness and Support gathered on 31 July 2009 more specific details from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about my benefits claim of 17 July. I was informed by Broadway City Outreach team that although my part of the claim had been processed (and subsequently paid), my wife's part of the claim is currently suspended because the DWP has lost her National Insurance Number (NINO) and, as a consequence, she needs to be issued with a new NINO before her part of the claim can be paid.

As first stated in my email to you of 6 August, I am in receipt of a letter of 4 August from Haringey Council advising that the Council cannot process my claim for Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit until they have more information to work out my benefit. I must (i) tell them my partner's National Insurance Number and provide proof that it belongs to her/him, for example, a letter or form issued by the DWP or HM Revenue and Customs, and (ii) provide current proof of my partner's Jobseeker's Allowance (Income Based)/(Contribution Based) in the form of a recent letter from the DWP showing my current address or a recent bank statement showing the most up to date payment being paid directly into their account. I have also pointed out in a number of emails to you that the Council states that I must give all this information to them within one month of the date of same letter, or my claim for housing benefit (to be treated as made on 17 July) will not be paid and I will have to reapply.

As you are aware, it has been my understanding since 4 August that (a) Broadway Homelessness and Support expect to receive the letter of invitation from the DWP for the NINO allocation appointment ASAP, given my wife's original NINO has been "lost" by the Department, and (b) Broadway City Outreach team has been informed by the DWP that the fact that we were unable to retrieve any personal identification documents following the aforementioned robbery at the Dellow Centre will not militate against my wife, and that her Big Issue vendor badge (badge no. 1170) will suffice in the circumstances. With regard to the former of these understandings, I note that Broadway Homelessness and Support has yet to receive this letter.

This has now become an extremely serious situation for my wife and me, and may, should it continue much longer, see us back sleeping rough at Salters' Hall. To further compound the situation, this morning I was denied access to food in the Dellow Centre because, according to Mr. Keith Armitage, Reception and Support Services Manager, they have been informed by Broadway Homelessness and Support that I "have a flat with access to a kitchen". (I am seeking written clarification from the Dellow Centre of the situation with regard to my wife, whose benefits have been suspended, before lodging a formal complaint against the Sisters of Mercy with the Archbishop of Westminster on the grounds of unlawful discrimination and seeking legal representation to pursue my claim.) Tomorrow my wife and I will turn up at Broadway Homelessness and Support head office to seek assistance in applying for a second crisis loan in her name, our accumulated debt to the DWP of £210 as from 20 July notwithstanding. I wrote to Broadway City Outreach team on Friday requesting an appointment for tomorrow for this purpose, and have just received a reply, stating: "We have a busy morning tomorrow and I am having trouble finding someone to be in the office to assist Maria with her Crisis Loan claim."

In September 2006 the DWP terminated our benefits because I did not sign up early enough – even though both my wife and I were doing so in a timely fashion; and I exhausted the appeals process: my case was dismissed by the High Court (Judicial Review), Court of Appeal and European Court of Human Rights, despite that I was denied the internal appeal process by procedural impropriety on the part of the enforcement authority. That we are now dealing with another obvious "mistake" (however deliberate) - namely, the losing of my wife's NINO by the DWP - I cannot imagine what would motivate the officials to prevent me from successfully establishing a joint claim leading to my landlady being paid the full amount of backdated housing benefit.

You will note that I am taking the time to once again copy Superintendent Lorraine Cussen of Snow Hill Police Station into my current situation. As you are aware, it was Superintendent Cussen who, as the supervisory police officer overseeing Operation Poncho II within the City of London Police, suggested that I seek the assistance of Broadway Homelesssness and Support (see attached email of 13 July 2009 from Superintendent Cussen). I am also copying this email and attachments to, among others, the former Law Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, Master of the Salters’ Company c/o the Clerk to the Salters’ Company at clerk@salters.co.uk.

Please would you acknowledge receipt.

Yours sincerely
Declan Heavey

cc The Rt. Hon. Yvette Cooper MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Lord Lloyd of Berwick, Master of the Salters’ Company
His Grace Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster
Mrs. Jo. Ansell, Chief Executive of Providence Row Charity
Superintendent Lorraine Cussen, Snow Hill Police Station