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Campaigners slam newspaper for ?campaign of hate? Disabled campaigners have stormed the offices of a national newspaper to protest against its ?negative attitudes towards disabled people?. The protestors, mobilised by the Direct Action Network for Disabled People (DAN) and backed by Mental Magazine UK, gatecrashed the offices of The Guardian in Deansgate, Manchester on Friday. After a period of public protest outside the HQ protesters entered and demanded a column of their own in the paper as a right to reply to articles written about disability issues by non-disabled people. Protestors claim that Guardian writers, in particular columnist Polly Toynbee and diary writer Simon Hoggart, have been promoting negative attitudes towards disabled people, running a ?campaign of hate? against them. In an article that appeared in his daily 'diary', Simon Hoggart recently suggested that disability statistics in the UK were grossly exaggerated. He described how on a recent train journey he ?couldn't see a single disabled person? and questioned the legitamacy of official statistics which state there are 8.5 million disabled people in the country. A spokesperson for DAN responded: ?Simon Hoggart seems to think that only wheelchair users are disabled people?. Award-winning columnist Polly Toynbee has written a number of highly critical pieces about disability campaigners? stance against the abortion of disabled foetuses. Her articles prompted a number of angry letters, including one from Disability Rights Commission director Liz Sayce who hit back at Toynbee arguing that: ?Women should be able to exercise a fully informed choice that is not influenced by prejudices and unfound fears about disability." Following the protest the Head of Personnel at Manchester agreed to fax protesters? demands to bosses at The Guardian?s London office. Talks are continuing between campaigners and editorial staff at The Guardian but the paper's Reader?s Editor, Ian Mayes, has said that a column by and for disabled people is ?unlikely? because the idea risks ?ghettoizing? disabled people. Patrick Greaney 11 September, 2001
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