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Today we received the terrible news that Stephen Smith had died.

Sadly most people will remember Stephen because of the truly harrowing pictures of his emaciated body published by the ECHO in February - and subsequently shared around the world.

No one could quite believe a man in his appalling physical condition could have been denied benefits, told to look for work - and forced to get a pass out of hospital to fight for the support he so badly needed and deserved.

Despite the increasing number of reports of desperate and vulnerable people being unfairly treated and humiliated by the pernicious welfare system that currently exists in this country, Stephen's was a case that stood out .

The images of his spine, so visible through his stretched, weak skin, will forever be held up as a symbol of why things need to change.

We appear to have moved away from a welfare state that seeks to support the country's most needy as its first port of call to one looking to save cash wherever possible - with more and more people slipping through the cracks.

(Image: Liverpoool Echo)

We don't know the exact reasons behind Stephen's death at this stage and clearly he was a man with a number of serious health concerns.

What we can safely say is that the endless months he spent fighting against what was so obviously an incorrect decision to deny him benefits and that saw him leave hospital - all six stone of him - to fight a tribunal, will not have made his difficult life any easier.

While those images of Stephen's withered body will remain scorched in the memory, it would be better to remember him as someone who showed incredible strength in the face of such injustice and adversity.

With the help of some important friends, he summoned a fierce level of resolve that was nothing short of remarkable for someone who was struggling to make it from the living room to the kitchen.

And what he did was so important. Like others, he exposed a flawed system for what it is - a cold, automated project that has no time for personal circumstances and prioritises efficiency light years ahead of empathy.

Of course the Department of Work and Pensions responded to the adverse publicity by paying Stephen back the more than £4,000 that he had been so wrongfully denied - but who can know the effects that battle will have had on his weak and vulnerable body?

Its heartening to know that in his hour of need, Stephen had people like Terry Craven and Tony Nelson from the remarkable CASA community centre to turn to - but it should never have come to that.

He should have been supported, looked after and cared for by the country he had lived and worked in for 64 years.

But let's not remember Stephen just as someone who was badly treated by the state - let's remember him as someone who summoned the strength at his weakest hour and shone the brightest light on a system that needs an urgent overhaul.

RIP Stephen.