Double amputee 7/7 survivor castigates DWP for 'insensitive' disability questions

Daniel Biddle lost an eye, his spleen and both legs due to the 2005 terror attacks

(Getty Images)

A man who lost both his legs in the 7/7 bombings has attacked the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) for a series of "insensitive" questions about his disabilities.

Daniel Biddle 36, lost both legs, his left eye and his spleen as a result 2005 London terror attacks.

The DWP requires him to answer questions about the level of his disability and may even require him to take a face-to-face test.

Mr Biddle was next to Mohammed Sidique Khan when the suicide bomber blew himself up and six others on a tube train at Edgware station.

As a result of the Post-Traumatic Stress disorder he developed following the bombings, he said had to reduce his working hours.

Mr Biddle from Abergavenny in South Wales told the Sun: "It is a betrayal. To be asked questions like ‘How long can you stand for?’ How insensitive is that?

"If this isn’t re-affirming how bad my life is going to be because of my injuries, I don’t know what is.

"My wheelchair is held together with clips. I need a new one but cannot afford it. I am in this situation because my Government couldn’t protect me."

Mr Biddle received £118,000 from the criminal injuries compensation board but says he had to return to work two months after being discharged from hospital.

The DWP said the same questions were sent to everyone applying for disability benefits.

They added that the questionnaire was used to make sure a claimant was receiving all the support he or she is eligible for.

The department said in a statement: "It’s important that people claiming Employment Support Allowance receive all the support and benefits they are entitled to.

"Which is why, on occasion, we ask for questionnaires to be completed by the claimant or their next of kin."