Dr Tony Cox condemns his sentence after being found guilty of shouting and swearing at Maximus staff
A welfare activist claims he is the victim of a “political attack” and supporters say he's being martyred after being found guilty of swearing at disability assessment centre staff.
Dr Tony Cox was sentenced to 150 hours of community service for the offence, which happened while he was accompanying a benefits claimant.
The Scottish Unemployed Workers Network volunteer plans to appeal against his conviction, which was handed down at Dundee Sheriff Court yesterday (Thursday, 21 July).
Cox attended the Maximus Assessment Centre at Caledonian House in Dundee on 15 November last year, and Maximus refused to allow him to accompany a vulnerable woman to her assessment and called the police.
Tony Cox is being martyred for reaching out to vulnerable people
Tony Cox
The court heard that he argued with Maximus employees that the claimant had the right to be accompanied.
Cox was arrested and held overnight in police cells.
US-based company Maximus took over work capability assessments from French IT company Atos last year.
Cox, of Dundee, was unrepentant following his sentence. He said: “I am furious with the verdict, being made to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work within six months is a clear attack on my ability to carry out my work helping people through the Scottish Unemployed Workers Network.”
John McArdle, co-founder of disability rights campaign Black Triangle, said: “We allege that the conviction and sentence of Dr Tony Cox is a miscarriage of justice.
“Tony Cox is being martyred for reaching out to vulnerable people with physical and/or mental impairments in distress – whose fundamental human right it is to be accompanied to these notorious Work Capability Assessments by a person of their choosing.
“Black Triangle believes that the sheriff court has erred in its findings, which appear on the face of it not to have been made out by the prosecution to the required standard of proof, which is beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal cases.
“In stating that the court preferred the hearsay evidence of the Maximus employees over the corroboration of witnesses in Dr Cox’s defence, it appears to us that the conviction is unsafe, as a decision on Tony’s culpability seems to have been made on the standard of proof applicable to civil cases: the balance of probabilities.
“At most, we believe a verdict of not proven would have been the only option available to the crown.
"We will be supporting Dr Cox in his appeal and are confident that Tony will be exonerated once the evidence has been reviewed at appeal.”
Scottish Unemployed Workers Network activists held a protest outside the court, insisting “advocacy is not a crime”.
A spokesperson for the group said: “This case is of importance to welfare activists everywhere, who need to feel free to advocate for people needing help, to support people through an often hostile system, and to question misinterpretations of the rules. The Maximus assessors don’t like being checked up on and don’t react well to being corrected.
“When Tony Cox pointed out to one of the assessors that he was fully entitled to take notes and use them in any subsequent appeal, she took against him and called the police.
“However, the person he was accompanying was able to reassure them that no crime had taken place. When, months later, he attempted to accompany someone else to an assessment, that same assessor insisted he left the building. When he refused to abandon the person he was helping, the assessor called the police.”
Maximus has been asked for comment.
