Atos Healthcare are today magnanimously negotiating with the owners of the CarerWatch forum, with a view to formulating an arrangement that will silence criticism of their work for the DWP, on the forum, once and for all.
Other blogs, websites and forums are already cowed and refusing to do anything that may incur the wrath of ATOS's chief boot-boy, James Loughrey.
The ease at which the sick and disabled can be whipped into submission and compliance, by a multi-billion pound company is shocking.
“Oh, I'm sorry - I got a bit scared when the lawyer called and gave in”
What all campaigners need to realise that this is a battle for our lives:
There is a very big difference between "libellous material" and a lawyer's claim of "libellous material". A lawyer claiming "false and malicious allegations" is substantively different to "false and malicious allegations".
This is the most shameless and callous examples of corporate bullying I've seen since the McLibel trial.
This is not a time for negotiation and capitulation:
James Loughrey - Chief Solicitor and head of ATOS's Dept. of Killa Fish
The shocking tactics used by ATOS Healthcare to silence their sick and disabled critics are rapidly coming to light all over teh Intawebs.
In the last week, website after website after website have been closed after ISP's received letters from ATOS's chief legal-thug James Loughrey.
Another one bites the dust...
More worryingly, Loughrey is also with the aid of LBi , a digital support services company, targeting internet fora and discussion boards where the sick and disabled meet online for mutual support - including the notoriously moderate and respectable CarerWatch.
“On behalf of CW can I thank every1 for their support, here,DMs and via email. Off to hospital most of today so will be later b4 updating u x”
CareWatch's Francis published their response to ATOS on their website this morning:
“CarerWatch is an internet forum for sick and disabled people and their unpaid family carers. This is a private forum and only members are allowed to make/read posts.
We understand from the organisation that hosts our forum that they received a letter from your solicitors threatening to sue us for libel. The provider immediately closed our site down.
This video was made as a tribute and thank you to the authors of
We have many members who are very fragile and the sudden disappearance of a support group has caused a lot of distress and fear. Some are ringing us in tears. We cannot get in contact with all of them though as we have lost their contact details through the closure.
All this distress could have been avoided if you had had the courtesy to contact us first and tell us what had been posted on our site that you considered libellous. Obviously if any post was possibly libellous we would have removed it and all this distress could have been avoided.
People... and websites...
We imagine this distress is unintended and hope you will work with us in looking at the problem and finding a solution.
Please note that this letter, and any reply received from yourselves, will be posted on our website. It is the only means left to us to reach some members and keep them updated.
It is vital we have our forum up and running again to reach those that are isolated.
On behalf of CarerWatch members”
Call a cunt, a cunt.
It's been a bad couple of weeks for ATOS - 12 of their doctors are to face action for misconduct by the General Medical Council and two of their employees are (claims ATOS) facing disciplinary action for describing the sick and disabled as "parasitic wankers" and "down and outs".
One notably effective online campaigner commented:
:( I have a huge fucking urge to troll ATOS again. We have storms tomorrow... I'm really fucking angry over this... To remove a lifeline such as the carer watch forums is sickening.... I'm on the fucking warpath now ATOS. Do you hear me?...
