Stephen Smith has died aged 64 (Picture: Liverpool Echo)

A starving man denied vital benefits after being deemed ‘fit to find work’ despite being unable to even stand, has died.

Stephen Smith, 64, died on Monday last week after suffering from a number of severe health problems.

His case hit the headlines when shocking photographs of his emaciated body weighing just six stone were published following the ruling he was fit and capable of finding work.

The pictures showed Stephen, of Liverpool, in his hospital bed where he had been admitted with pneumonia.


But he was forced to get a pass out from hospital to go and fight the decision by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) which repeatedly denied him benefits.

This image of Stephen was published as news broke he was being forced to fight the DWP decision despite his deteriorating health (Picture: Liverpool Echo)

He won the appeal after a tribunal judge saw he could barely walk down the street let alone hold down a job.



And after finally agreeing to re-instate his benefit, the DWP confirmed he would also receive back-payments for the money he was wrongly denied.

One friend said: ‘He never really recovered from the pneumonia. He was a good soul of the earth. He would do anything for anyone.’

Mr Smith suffered with a number of serious conditions for several years, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoarthritis and an enlarged prostate. He also had a colostomy bag.

Despite all of this, he failed a DWP work capability assesment in 2017 – which meant his Employment and Support Allowance payments were stopped and he was told to sign on for a £67 a week Jobseeker’s Allowance, visit the job centre once a week and prove he was looking for work.

Stephen’s weight dropped to just 6st as he fought a number of severe health problems (Picture: Liverpool Echo)

Throughout this period, Mr Smith was living alone and didn’t know where to turn as his health deteriorated.

He said: ‘I could only make it to the kitchen to make food once a day.

‘I had no muscles in the back of my leg which meant I couldn’t stand up at all – and had to lean or sit down all the time – but they were telling me I was fit for work.’

Mr Smith enlisted the help of the CASA community centre in Liverpool which offers support to people like Stephen.

Tony Nelson, who runs the centre, introduced Mr Smith to Terry Craven, a former city council welfare officer who works at the CASA advising people on benefit claims.

Mr Smith was admitted to hospital with pneumonia and one friend said he ‘never really recovered’ (Picture: Liverpool Echo)

After Mr Smith was denied ESA, Terry took up his case and battled with the DWP to get him the benefits he knew he deserved.

Following the successful appeal of his case a DWP spokesman said: ‘We are sorry for the experience Mr Smith has had and we are committed to ensuring that people with health conditions get the support they’re entitled to.

‘Following the independent tribunal’s ruling, he is now receiving full ESA support.

‘While Mr Smith continued to receive benefits and support during his appeal, we can confirm he will shortly receive all back-payments for ESA due.’

Got a story for Metro.co.uk? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page.