Labour Conference: Benefit-tests firm Atos is ‘a disgrace’ and should be sacked, Liam Byrne to say

The firm carrying out the Government’s controversial “fitness for work” tests on disabled benefit claimants is a “disgrace” and should be stripped of its contract, Labour will say on Monday.

Liam Byrne, the shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, will tell the Labour conference that Atos is wrongly labelling too many people as able to work and should be sacked. He will also commit Labour to making disability hate crime a specific offence.

The French-run Atos has come under fire for its handling of work-capability assessments, used to gauge eligibility for employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit, and has been ordered by ministers to improve.