Produced by the UN's Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in November 2016, the report said cuts and caps "gravely or systematically" violated the rights of disabled people.

Dr Lisa Morrison-Coulthard, acting director of policy, said:

"Earlier this year the Society, along with a number of other organisations in the mental health field, called on the government to suspend its system of benefit sanctions.

We argued that it did not encourage people to find work and can result in destitution, hardship, widespread anxiety and feelings of disempowerment.

Any government serious about improving the lives of people and understanding why intractable problems persist, must ensure that policies and interventions are based on a deep understanding of human behaviour and are designed to enhance wellbeing not hardship"

As the United Nations report shows, people with disabilities are among the hardest hit by this system. The BPS very much endorses the report's call for the government to establish a watchdog to assess the impact of policy changes on disabled people's lives."